The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) Stock Position Lowered by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. reduced its position in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 72.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 171,377 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 443,259 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.32% of Middleby worth $23,213,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Middleby by 4,494.8% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 1,238,767 shares during the period. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Middleby in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,930,000. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Middleby by 43.6% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 371,854 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $50,037,000 after purchasing an additional 112,855 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Middleby during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,312,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Middleby in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,486,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.55% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total value of $81,755.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.16% of the company’s stock.

Middleby Stock Down 2.8 %

MIDD stock opened at $152.76 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $161.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $146.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.07 and a beta of 1.72. The Middleby Co. has a 52-week low of $118.41 and a 52-week high of $182.73.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $996.69 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. Middleby’s revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Middleby from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Middleby from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays boosted their price target on Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $160.00 target price (down from $170.00) on shares of Middleby in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.86.

Middleby Company 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.