Legal & General Group Plc Acquires New Stake in The Middleby Corporation $MIDD

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 55,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,588,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its position in Middleby by 201.8% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 166 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Middleby during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of Middleby during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Middleby by 1,292.9% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Middleby by 553.8% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 170 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. 98.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Middleby Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ MIDD opened at $111.60 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $134.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $144.60. The company has a market capitalization of $5.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.05 and a beta of 1.31. The Middleby Corporation has a 1 year low of $109.68 and a 1 year high of $180.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 11th. The industrial products company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.26. Middleby had a positive return on equity of 17.44% and a negative net margin of 13.22%.The business had revenue of $875.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $836.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.35 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. Middleby has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.670-1.830 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 6.730-6.890 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that The Middleby Corporation will post 6.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MIDD. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective (down from $205.00) on shares of Middleby in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Middleby from $200.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $145.00 price target (down from $155.00) on shares of Middleby in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $160.00 price objective on Middleby and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, KeyCorp set a $152.00 price objective on Middleby in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Middleby has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $160.75.

About Middleby

Middleby Corporation is a global manufacturer and distributor of commercial foodservice and food processing equipment. The company designs, engineers and markets a wide range of cooking, baking, refrigeration, warewashing, holding and dispensing solutions. Middleby’s products serve restaurants, hotels, convenience stores, institutional cafeterias, cruise ships and other foodservice operators.

The company’s portfolio spans multiple well-known brands, including Blodgett ovens, TurboChef rapid‐cook ovens, Southbend ranges and broilers, Pitco fryers, and Viking residential and commercial kitchen appliances.