Swiss National Bank Buys 800 Shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Swiss National Bank raised its position in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 105,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.20% of Middleby worth $14,331,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MIDD. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Middleby by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. now owns 24,535 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,323,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Middleby by 16.0% during the fourth 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 during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Middleby by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,651 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Middleby by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 6,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $871,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in Middleby by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 15,592 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,112,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the business’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 owns 6,111 shares in the company, valued at $999,209.61. The trade was a 7.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.16% of the company’s stock.

Middleby Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MIDD opened at $154.90 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $158.88 and a 200 day moving average of $145.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market capitalization of $8.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.37 and a beta of 1.72. The Middleby Co. has a 52 week low of $118.41 and a 52 week high of $182.73.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last released 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 return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.14%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $996.69 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.65 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. 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 note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Middleby from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Middleby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $180.86.

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.