The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) Holdings Decreased by M&T Bank Corp

M&T Bank Corp reduced its stake in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 51.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,425 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Middleby were worth $432,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Middleby by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 348,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,167,000 after buying an additional 3,832 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Middleby by 286.8% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 762 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP grew its holdings in Middleby by 29.9% in the 4th quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 3,248 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $440,000 after buying an additional 748 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Middleby in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,238,000. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Middleby by 52.1% in the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 18,029 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,442,000 after purchasing an additional 6,174 shares in the last quarter. 98.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total transaction of $81,755.00. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $160.00 price target (down previously from $170.00) on shares of Middleby in a report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Middleby from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Middleby from $157.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $180.86.

Middleby Price Performance

MIDD stock opened at $147.69 on Friday. 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 1 year low of $118.41 and a 1 year high of $182.73. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $157.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $144.60. The stock has a market cap of $7.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.37 and a beta of 1.72.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.38. Middleby had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $996.69 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.65 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Middleby

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.