Chapin Sarah Palisi Sells 500 Shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) Stock

The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) 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 transaction of $81,755.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $999,209.61. This represents a 7.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Middleby Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MIDD opened at $159.04 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $154.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $143.90. The Middleby Co. has a 12 month low of $118.41 and a 12 month high of $182.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.94 and a beta of 1.64.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.88 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $996.69 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.65 EPS. Middleby’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Middleby

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Middleby by 306.5% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Middleby by 820.0% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 322 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Middleby by 41.1% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 398 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Middleby during the 3rd quarter worth $72,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Middleby during the 4th quarter worth $71,000. 98.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays raised 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. 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 restated a “hold” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective (down from $170.00) on shares of Middleby in a report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Middleby from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Middleby from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $180.86.

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.