The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) Director Edward P. Garden Purchases 249,339 Shares

The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) Director Edward P. Garden purchased 249,339 shares of Middleby stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $149.59 per share, for a total transaction of $37,298,621.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,088,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $461,973,262.17. This represents a 8.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Middleby Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:MIDD opened at $149.91 on Wednesday. The Middleby Co. has a 12 month low of $118.41 and a 12 month high of $182.73. 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $141.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $145.56. The firm has a market cap of $8.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.68 and a beta of 1.65.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Middleby

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Middleby by 121.4% in 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 last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in Middleby in the 4th quarter valued at $469,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake 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 valued at $3,106,000 after buying an additional 2,763 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new stake in Middleby in the 4th quarter valued at $219,000. Finally, Olstein Capital Management L.P. increased its stake 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 valued at $9,617,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. 98.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MIDD shares. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target 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. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Middleby from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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, February 26th. Finally, Barclays lifted 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, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $168.14.

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.