The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) Shares Bought by Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,895,553 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 35,449 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned approximately 3.52% of Middleby worth $256,753,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MIDD. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Middleby by 4,494.8% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,266,327 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $171,524,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238,767 shares in the last quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Middleby in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $91,869,000. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC acquired a new position in shares of Middleby in the fourth quarter worth $26,930,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Middleby by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,247,671 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $169,000,000 after acquiring an additional 150,709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Middleby in the 4th quarter valued at about $20,189,000. 98.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MIDD shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Middleby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Middleby from $157.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Middleby from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $179.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total value of $81,755.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at $999,209.61. This represents a 7.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 6.18% of the company's stock.

Middleby Stock Down 0.9 %

Middleby stock traded down $1.25 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $131.53. 267,279 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 684,996. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The Middleby Co. has a fifty-two week low of $118.41 and a fifty-two week high of $182.73. The company's fifty day moving average price is $146.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.52. The company has a market cap of $7.06 billion, a PE ratio of 18.14 and a beta of 1.44.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.38. Middleby had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $996.69 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.65 EPS. The business's revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Middleby Profile

The Middleby Corporation designs, markets, manufactures, distributes, and services foodservice, food processing, and residential kitchen equipment worldwide. Its Commercial Foodservice Equipment Group segment offers conveyor, combi, convection, baking, proofing, deck, speed cooking, and hydrovection ovens; ranges, fryers, and rethermalizers; steam cooking, food warming, catering, induction cooking, and countertop cooking equipment; heated cabinets, charbroilers, ventless cooking systems, kitchen ventilation, toasters, griddles, charcoal grills, professional mixers, stainless steel fabrication, custom millwork, professional refrigerators, blast chillers, cold rooms, ice machines, and freezers; soft serve ice cream, coffee and beverage dispensing, home and professional craft brewing equipment; and fry dispensers, bottle filling and canning equipment, IoT solutions, and controls development and manufacturing.