Securian Asset Management Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Securian Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,066 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 115 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Middleby were worth $551,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in Middleby in the third quarter worth $218,000. Natixis Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Middleby in the 3rd quarter valued at about $10,928,000. Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Middleby by 142,460.0% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 7,128 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $992,000 after buying an additional 7,123 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Middleby during the third quarter worth $211,000. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Middleby by 820.0% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 322 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. 98.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Middleby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays increased their target price on Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Middleby from $157.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $160.00 price target (down from $170.00) on shares of Middleby in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $180.86.

Middleby Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of MIDD stock opened at $153.52 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $158.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $144.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.23 billion, a PE ratio of 21.18 and a beta of 1.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.81. The Middleby Co. has a 1 year low of $118.41 and a 1 year high of $182.73.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.38. Middleby had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.14%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $996.69 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.65 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the company’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 value of $81,755.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $999,209.61. This represents a 7.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Middleby

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.