Edward P. Garden Purchases 37,473 Shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) Stock

The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) Director Edward P. Garden purchased 37,473 shares of Middleby stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $148.40 per share, with a total value of $5,560,993.20. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,125,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $463,859,222.40. This trade represents a 1.21% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Middleby Stock Performance

Middleby stock opened at $151.49 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $141.11 and its 200 day moving average is $145.89. 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 company has a market capitalization of $8.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.90 and a beta of 1.65.

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

Institutional Trading of Middleby

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Middleby by 0.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Middleby by 5.0% in the first quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,604 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Middleby by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Middleby by 5.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in shares of Middleby by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 7,167 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $971,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MIDD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays boosted their price target 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 decreased their target price on Middleby from $188.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on Middleby from $200.00 to $186.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price target on Middleby from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $168.14.

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.