The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) Director Acquires $28,251,459.54 in Stock

The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) Director Edward P. Garden purchased 203,058 shares of Middleby stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $139.13 per share, for a total transaction of $28,251,459.54. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,838,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $394,979,496.12. The trade was a 7.70% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Middleby Stock Performance

Shares of Middleby stock opened at $149.78 on Friday. 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 Middleby Co. has a twelve month low of $118.41 and a twelve month high of $182.73. The stock has a market cap of $8.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.66 and a beta of 1.65. The company’s fifty day moving average is $141.18 and its 200 day moving average is $145.65.

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

Institutional Trading of Middleby

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Middleby by 121.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,423 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $615,000 after acquiring an additional 2,425 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in Middleby during the 4th quarter worth about $469,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Middleby by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 22,929 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,106,000 after acquiring an additional 2,763 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new stake in Middleby during the 4th quarter worth about $219,000. Finally, Olstein Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in Middleby by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 71,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,617,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares during the period. 98.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price 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 cut their price target on shares of Middleby from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of Middleby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average 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.