Creative Planning Sells 143 Shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Creative Planning cut its holdings in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,557 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 143 shares during the period. Creative Planning’s holdings in Middleby were worth $1,051,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MIDD. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Middleby by 4.8% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,022 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Mendota Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Middleby by 10.0% in the second quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 1,150 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Middleby by 97.7% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 255 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Middleby by 133.3% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aurora Investment Counsel lifted its stake in Middleby by 1.3% during the first quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 10,584 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,702,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MIDD has been the subject of several recent research reports. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of Middleby from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Middleby from $155.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Middleby in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Middleby from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Middleby in a research note on Friday, September 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $156.17.

Middleby Stock Performance

Shares of MIDD stock opened at $129.70 on Friday. The Middleby Co. has a 52 week low of $109.59 and a 52 week high of $161.01. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $137.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $133.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.97 billion, a PE ratio of 18.14 and a beta of 1.58.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by ($0.15). Middleby had a net margin of 9.90% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The business had revenue of $942.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $996.60 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.35 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Middleby Co. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Middleby 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.