The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) Shares Sold by Kennedy Capital Management LLC

Kennedy Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 15.7% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 17,361 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,233 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Middleby were worth $2,791,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of Middleby by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 5,313 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $782,000 after purchasing an additional 817 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Middleby by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 2,852 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $420,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Middleby by 79.5% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 8,052 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,185,000 after purchasing an additional 3,567 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Middleby by 218.8% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 21,842 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,214,000 after purchasing an additional 14,991 shares during the period. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Middleby in the fourth quarter worth about $313,000. 98.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on MIDD. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $159.00 target price on shares of Middleby in a report on Thursday, July 25th. KeyCorp decreased their price target on Middleby from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Middleby in a report on Friday, June 28th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. William Blair upgraded shares of Middleby to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Middleby from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $118.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at Middleby

In other news, Director John R. Miller III sold 2,000 shares of Middleby stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.32, for a total value of $252,640.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,931 shares in the company, valued at $1,380,803.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Middleby news, Director John R. Miller III sold 2,000 shares of Middleby stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.32, for a total value of $252,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,380,803.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 235 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.18, for a total transaction of $32,237.30. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $989,204.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,385 shares of company stock worth $304,134. Corporate insiders own 1.16% of the company’s stock.

Middleby Stock Up 0.1 %

MIDD traded up $0.10 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $135.36. The company had a trading volume of 144,136 shares, compared to its average volume of 448,012. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $125.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $139.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 2.40 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The Middleby Co. has a 12 month low of $109.59 and a 12 month high of $161.01. The company has a market cap of $7.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.84 and a beta of 1.61.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The industrial products company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.16). Middleby had a return on equity of 15.88% and a net margin of 9.82%. The company had revenue of $926.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $979.05 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.19 earnings per share. Middleby’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that The Middleby Co. will post 9.77 EPS for the current 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.