Blue Trust Inc. Buys 2,425 Shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 121.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,423 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,425 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Middleby were worth $615,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MIDD. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Middleby by 133.3% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Middleby by 306.5% during 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 during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Middleby by 93.2% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 282 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Middleby by 820.0% in the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 322 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Middleby by 91.8% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 489 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the period. 98.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MIDD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Middleby from $155.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Middleby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Middleby from $157.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 price objective (down previously from $170.00) on shares of Middleby in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Middleby from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $174.67.

Middleby Price Performance

NASDAQ:MIDD opened at $171.66 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.68 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a 50-day moving average of $142.33 and a 200-day moving average of $138.57. The Middleby Co. has a 52 week low of $118.41 and a 52 week high of $177.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.81.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $942.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $996.60 million. Middleby had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.35 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Middleby Co. will post 9.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.