Aurora Investment Counsel Grows Stock Holdings in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Aurora Investment Counsel lifted its holdings in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,596 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel’s holdings in Middleby were worth $1,706,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MIDD. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Middleby by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. now owns 24,535 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,323,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in Middleby by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Middleby by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,651 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Middleby by 1.4% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 6,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $871,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Middleby by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,868 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. 98.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Middleby news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total transaction of $81,755.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,111 shares in the company, valued at $999,209.61. The trade was a 7.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MIDD shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Middleby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Middleby from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays upped their price target on Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Middleby from $157.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Middleby has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $180.86.

Middleby Stock Performance

NASDAQ MIDD opened at $147.69 on Friday. The Middleby Co. has a 1-year low of $118.41 and a 1-year high of $182.73. The company has a market cap of $7.92 billion, a PE ratio of 20.37 and a beta of 1.72. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $157.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $144.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 1.70.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for 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 company’s revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.65 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Middleby 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.