US Bancorp DE Sells 1,011 Shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

US Bancorp DE cut its position in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 27.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,715 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,011 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Middleby were worth $368,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Middleby by 4,494.8% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,266,327 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $171,524,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238,767 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Middleby by 17.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,138,999 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $158,469,000 after purchasing an additional 171,634 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Middleby by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 936,596 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $130,341,000 after purchasing an additional 8,926 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Middleby by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 344,391 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,915,000 after purchasing an additional 2,676 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in Middleby by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 147,109 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $19,926,000 after purchasing an additional 3,212 shares during the period. 98.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Middleby

In other Middleby news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 $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 is available at this link. 1.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Middleby Price Performance

Middleby stock opened at $147.69 on Friday. 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 52 week low of $118.41 and a 52 week high of $182.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.37 and a beta of 1.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $157.09 and a 200-day moving average of $144.60.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.38. Middleby had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.14%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $996.69 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. Middleby’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MIDD shares. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Middleby from $157.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 target price (down from $170.00) on shares of Middleby in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays upped their target price on Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Middleby from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.