The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) Shares Sold by Hills Bank & Trust Co

Hills Bank & Trust Co decreased its holdings in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,192 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Middleby were worth $583,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MIDD. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Middleby by 11,853.1% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 967,365 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $118,609,000 after acquiring an additional 959,272 shares in the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. lifted its position in shares of Middleby by 15.4% during the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 6,360,288 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $779,835,000 after acquiring an additional 846,884 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Middleby by 421.5% during the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 356,714 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $57,356,000 after acquiring an additional 288,314 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Middleby by 43.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 903,346 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $110,768,000 after acquiring an additional 274,513 shares during the period. Finally, Ariel Investments LLC raised its holdings in Middleby by 58.0% during the second quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 510,127 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $62,547,000 after purchasing an additional 187,304 shares during the last quarter. 98.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Middleby Trading Up 0.4 %

MIDD opened at $130.16 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.00 billion, a PE ratio of 18.20 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The Middleby Co. has a 12-month low of $111.75 and a 12-month high of $161.01. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $136.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $133.74.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.48 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $942.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $996.60 million. Middleby had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 9.90%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.35 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that The Middleby Co. will post 9.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on MIDD. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Middleby in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Middleby from $155.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Middleby from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on shares of Middleby from $164.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of Middleby from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Middleby currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $154.67.

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.