The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) Shares Sold by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lowered its stake in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 23.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,700 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Middleby were worth $1,818,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MIDD. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its position in Middleby by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 149,279 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $19,108,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC raised its position in Middleby by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 2,038 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in Middleby in the 3rd quarter valued at about $389,000. Raymond James & Associates acquired a new stake in shares of Middleby during the 3rd quarter worth about $575,000. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Middleby by 44.0% during the 3rd quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 2,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 719 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.55% of the company’s stock.

Middleby Trading Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:MIDD opened at $141.93 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $7.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.15 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $151.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $138.88. The Middleby Co. has a 12-month low of $109.59 and a 12-month high of $161.01.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Middleby had a return on equity of 16.99% and a net margin of 9.93%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.57 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that The Middleby Co. will post 10.32 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity

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

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.