The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) Shares Bought by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,167 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Middleby were worth $971,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Middleby during the 4th quarter worth $257,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Middleby during the fourth quarter worth about $20,189,000. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in Middleby by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 4,398 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Middleby in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $286,000. Finally, Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP increased its position in Middleby by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP now owns 52,540 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,117,000 after purchasing an additional 6,780 shares during the period. 98.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Middleby Stock Performance

NASDAQ MIDD opened at $135.46 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The Middleby Co. has a fifty-two week low of $118.41 and a fifty-two week high of $182.73. The business has a fifty day moving average of $161.13 and a 200-day moving average of $146.59. The stock has a market cap of $7.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.68 and a beta of 1.44.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total transaction of $81,755.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,111 shares in the company, valued at $999,209.61. This trade represents a 7.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MIDD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Middleby from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Middleby from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Middleby from $157.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com cut Middleby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 target price (down from $170.00) on shares of Middleby in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $180.86.

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.