Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its position in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 75.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,565 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,802 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Middleby were worth $218,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Middleby by 421.5% during the first quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 356,714 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $57,356,000 after buying an additional 288,314 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Middleby by 278.9% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 9,060 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,457,000 after purchasing an additional 6,669 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its position in shares of Middleby by 18.4% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 56,484 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,281,000 after purchasing an additional 8,768 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Middleby by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,113,286 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $822,165,000 after purchasing an additional 15,798 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in Middleby in the second quarter valued at $500,000. 98.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on MIDD. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on Middleby from $164.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Middleby from $155.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Middleby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Middleby in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Middleby from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $154.67.

Middleby Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MIDD opened at $143.63 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $136.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $133.53. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The Middleby Co. has a twelve month low of $113.77 and a twelve month high of $161.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.81 and a beta of 1.58.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by ($0.15). Middleby had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.14%. The company had revenue of $942.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $996.60 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.35 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Middleby Co. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.