Swiss National Bank Raises Holdings in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 105,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Middleby were worth $14,331,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Middleby by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. now owns 24,535 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,323,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Middleby by 16.0% in the 4th 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 during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Middleby by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,651 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its position in Middleby by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 6,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $871,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in Middleby by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 15,592 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,112,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. 98.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MIDD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of Middleby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Middleby from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 target price (down from $170.00) on shares of Middleby in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Middleby from $157.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $180.86.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total value of $81,755.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $999,209.61. This trade represents a 7.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.16% of the company’s stock.

Middleby Stock Performance

Shares of MIDD stock opened at $154.90 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The Middleby Co. has a 12-month low of $118.41 and a 12-month high of $182.73. The business’s 50 day moving average is $158.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $145.01. The company has a market capitalization of $8.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.37 and a beta of 1.72.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. Analysts expect that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 EPS 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.