Arizona State Retirement System Decreases Stock Holdings in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Arizona State Retirement System cut its stake in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,985 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 252 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Middleby were worth $2,205,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Select Equity Group L.P. increased its stake in Middleby by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 4,536,791 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $607,476,000 after purchasing an additional 541,956 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Middleby by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,171,437 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $290,756,000 after buying an additional 407,150 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Middleby by 192.8% during the 1st quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 532,784 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $78,111,000 after buying an additional 350,793 shares during the last quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Middleby in the 1st quarter worth about $31,419,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Middleby by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,696,476 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $251,621,000 after buying an additional 198,859 shares during the period. 98.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Middleby news, Director Cathy L. Mccarthy sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.12, for a total value of $153,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,220,519.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Cathy L. Mccarthy sold 1,000 shares of Middleby stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.12, for a total transaction of $153,120.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,220,519.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.47, for a total transaction of $53,014.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $955,169.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on MIDD shares. TheStreet raised shares of Middleby from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Middleby from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Middleby from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Middleby has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $159.38.

Middleby Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of MIDD stock opened at $147.66 on Friday. The Middleby Co. has a fifty-two week low of $109.59 and a fifty-two week high of $161.01. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $151.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $137.94. The stock has a market cap of $7.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.93 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.21. Middleby had a net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 16.99%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.57 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that The Middleby Co. will post 10.31 EPS for the current year.

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.