Park Avenue Securities LLC Acquires 255 Shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 17.5% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Middleby were worth $275,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MIDD. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Middleby by 54.3% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 38,356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,910,000 after buying an additional 13,493 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in shares of Middleby by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 23,362 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,990,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Middleby by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,402 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $691,000 after purchasing an additional 680 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in shares of Middleby by 22.5% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 5,862 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $750,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Middleby by 44.3% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 80,922 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,358,000 after purchasing an additional 24,830 shares during the period. 98.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Middleby Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MIDD opened at $119.40 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $130.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $141.56. The Middleby Co. has a 12-month low of $109.59 and a 12-month high of $161.01. The firm has a market cap of $6.42 billion, a PE ratio of 16.63 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The industrial products company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.16). Middleby had a return on equity of 15.88% and a net margin of 9.82%. The business had revenue of $926.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $979.05 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.19 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that The Middleby Co. will post 9.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MIDD shares. Raymond James started coverage on shares of Middleby in a report on Friday. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. William Blair raised shares of Middleby to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Middleby from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $145.00 to $118.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on shares of Middleby from $166.00 to $159.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 9th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $153.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Middleby news, Director John R. Miller III sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.32, for a total transaction of $252,640.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,380,803.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 235 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.18, for a total transaction of $32,237.30. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $989,204.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John R. Miller III sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.32, for a total transaction of $252,640.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,380,803.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,385 shares of company stock worth $304,134 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.17% 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.