The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) Shares Sold by State of Tennessee Department of Treasury

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury reduced its stake in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 15,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 427 shares during the quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury’s holdings in Middleby were worth $2,050,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MIDD. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Middleby by 121.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,423 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $615,000 after buying an additional 2,425 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in Middleby in the 4th quarter worth $469,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Middleby by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 22,929 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,106,000 after buying an additional 2,763 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new position in Middleby in the 4th quarter worth $219,000. Finally, Olstein Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Middleby by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 71,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,617,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. 98.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Middleby

In other Middleby news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 6,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $999,209.61. This trade 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. 6.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on MIDD shares. Barclays lifted their target price on Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com lowered Middleby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Middleby from $157.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their target price on Middleby from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Middleby has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $179.43.

Middleby Stock Down 0.2 %

MIDD opened at $130.58 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $147.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $145.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.81. The Middleby Co. has a twelve month low of $118.41 and a twelve month high of $182.73. The firm has a market cap of $7.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.01 and a beta of 1.44.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.88 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 firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $996.69 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities 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.