First Horizon Advisors Inc. Sells 72 Shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 22.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 253 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 72 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Middleby were worth $34,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MIDD. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Middleby by 306.5% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Middleby by 820.0% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 322 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Middleby by 41.1% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 398 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Middleby in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $72,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Middleby by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. 98.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MIDD shares. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $160.00 price target (down previously from $170.00) on shares of Middleby in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Middleby from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Middleby from $157.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Middleby presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $180.86.

Middleby Trading Down 1.3 %

NASDAQ:MIDD opened at $163.25 on Friday. The Middleby Co. has a 52 week low of $118.41 and a 52 week high of $182.73. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $152.97 and a 200 day moving average of $143.29. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $8.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.52 and a beta of 1.64.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $996.69 million. Middleby had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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.