The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) Position Reduced by Nuveen Asset Management LLC

Nuveen Asset Management LLC cut its position in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 262,884 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,576 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned 0.49% of Middleby worth $35,608,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Middleby by 41.1% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 398 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Middleby in the fourth quarter worth $71,000. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Middleby by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Middleby by 220.6% in the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 606 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 417 shares during the period. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Middleby by 73.2% in the fourth quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 710 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. 98.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Middleby

In other news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 6,111 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Edward P. Garden bought 203,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $139.13 per share, for a total transaction of $28,251,459.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,838,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $394,979,496.12. This represents a 7.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 503,968 shares of company stock worth $73,215,160 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 6.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on MIDD. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Middleby from $188.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on shares of Middleby from $200.00 to $186.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. StockNews.com lowered Middleby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $168.14.

Middleby Stock Up 0.7%

Middleby stock opened at $152.11 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $141.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $146.08. The Middleby Co. has a 1-year low of $118.41 and a 1-year high of $182.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market capitalization of $8.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.98 and a beta of 1.65.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.14. Middleby had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.14%. The firm had revenue of $906.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $941.46 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 earnings per share 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.