Davis R M Inc. Cuts Position in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Davis R M Inc. reduced its stake in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 46.3% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,312 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,132 shares during the period. Davis R M Inc.’s holdings in Middleby were worth $211,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MIDD. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Middleby in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Middleby by 1,246.2% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 175 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Middleby by 230.1% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 241 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Middleby in the first quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Middleby by 1,158.3% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 453 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. 98.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John R. Miller III sold 2,000 shares of the 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 owns 10,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,380,803.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director John R. Miller III sold 2,000 shares of the 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 owns 10,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,380,803.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 235 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.18, for a total value of $32,237.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $989,204.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,385 shares of company stock worth $304,134 in the last three months. 1.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Middleby from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $118.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Raymond James began coverage on Middleby in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on Middleby from $166.00 to $159.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. William Blair raised Middleby to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price target on Middleby from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Middleby has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.57.

Middleby Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of MIDD traded down $0.66 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $129.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 232,400 shares, compared to its average volume of 433,024. The company has a fifty day moving average of $126.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $139.42. The Middleby Co. has a twelve month low of $109.59 and a twelve month high of $161.01. The company has a market cap of $6.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.88 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 15.88%. The firm had revenue of $926.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $979.05 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.19 earnings per share. Middleby’s revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Middleby Co. will post 9.77 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.