The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) Shares Acquired by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 15,592 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Middleby were worth $2,112,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MIDD. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Middleby by 4,494.8% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,266,327 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $171,524,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238,767 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Middleby by 17.7% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,138,999 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $158,469,000 after purchasing an additional 171,634 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Middleby during the third quarter worth about $10,928,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Middleby during the third quarter worth about $4,486,000. Finally, Regents Gate Capital LLP acquired a new stake in Middleby during the fourth quarter worth about $3,588,000. 98.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total value of $81,755.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $999,209.61. This trade represents a 7.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.16% of the company’s stock.

Middleby Trading Down 2.2 %

NASDAQ MIDD opened at $157.32 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $156.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $144.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.81. The Middleby Co. has a one year low of $118.41 and a one year high of $182.73. The firm has a market cap of $8.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.70 and a beta of 1.72.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.38. Middleby had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $996.69 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on MIDD. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Middleby from $157.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of Middleby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 price target (down from $170.00) on shares of Middleby in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Middleby from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $180.86.

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.