Raymond James & Associates Has $782,000 Position in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 18.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,313 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 817 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Middleby were worth $782,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Naples Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Middleby during the 4th quarter worth approximately $221,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Middleby by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,696,476 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $251,621,000 after acquiring an additional 198,859 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Middleby by 28.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 56,712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,259,000 after purchasing an additional 12,589 shares during the period. Studio Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Middleby by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 3,508 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $449,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Middleby by 426.4% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 220,232 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,190,000 after purchasing an additional 178,393 shares during the period. 98.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MIDD. TheStreet upgraded Middleby from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Middleby from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Middleby from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $159.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Middleby

In other news, Director Cathy L. Mccarthy sold 1,000 shares of Middleby stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.12, for a total value of $153,120.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,971 shares in the company, valued at $1,220,519.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Cathy L. Mccarthy sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.12, for a total value of $153,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,220,519.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.47, for a total value of $53,014.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $955,169.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.16% of the company’s stock.

Middleby Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of MIDD stock opened at $145.36 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.62 and a beta of 1.56. The Middleby Co. has a 12-month low of $109.59 and a 12-month high of $161.01. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $151.15 and a 200-day moving average of $139.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. Middleby had a return on equity of 16.99% and a net margin of 9.93%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.57 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Middleby Co. will post 10.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.