Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Buys 6,174 Shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its stake in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 52.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,029 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 6,174 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Middleby were worth $2,442,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MIDD. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Middleby by 306.5% in 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 boosted its position in shares of Middleby by 820.0% in the third 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 period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Middleby by 41.1% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Middleby during the 3rd quarter valued at $72,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Middleby by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. 98.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MIDD shares. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Middleby from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Middleby from $157.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Middleby from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 price objective (down from $170.00) on shares of Middleby in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. One equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $180.86.

Middleby Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of MIDD opened at $163.25 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $152.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $143.29. The Middleby Co. has a 1 year low of $118.41 and a 1 year 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 stock has a market capitalization of $8.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.52 and a beta of 1.64.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.88 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $996.69 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.65 earnings per share. Middleby’s quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 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.