First Horizon Advisors Inc. Trims Holdings in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 21.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 397 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 107 shares during the quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Middleby were worth $49,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Middleby in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Middleby by 1,246.2% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 175 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Middleby by 97.7% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 255 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Middleby by 230.1% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 241 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Middleby by 620.0% during the first quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the period. 98.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MIDD has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Middleby from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. William Blair raised Middleby to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Raymond James started coverage on shares of Middleby in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Middleby from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $159.00 price objective on shares of Middleby in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Middleby has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $154.71.

Middleby Stock Performance

NASDAQ MIDD opened at $139.76 on Thursday. The Middleby Co. has a fifty-two week low of $109.59 and a fifty-two week high of $161.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.47 and a beta of 1.61. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $129.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 2.50.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $991.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $994.05 million. Middleby had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 9.90%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.47 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Middleby Co. will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Middleby

In related news, Director John R. Miller III sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.32, for a total transaction of $252,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,380,803.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.16% of the company’s stock.

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.