Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. Sells 140 Shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. decreased its position in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,590 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 140 shares during the period. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Middleby were worth $3,619,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its stake in Middleby by 0.5% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management raised its stake in Middleby by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 5,728 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $843,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Mendota Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Middleby by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 1,090 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $160,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC grew its stake in Middleby by 6.9% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 2,038 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $261,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Middleby by 230.1% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 241 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.55% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MIDD shares. TheStreet upgraded Middleby from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Middleby from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Middleby from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Middleby currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $159.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Middleby

In related news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 350 shares of Middleby stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.47, for a total value of $53,014.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $955,169.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Middleby news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 350 shares of Middleby stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.47, for a total value of $53,014.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $955,169.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Cathy L. Mccarthy sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.12, for a total value of $153,120.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,971 shares in the company, valued at $1,220,519.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.17% of the company’s stock.

Middleby Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of MIDD traded down $0.96 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $144.40. The company had a trading volume of 59,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 337,966. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.62 and a beta of 1.56. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $151.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $139.02. The Middleby Co. has a 52-week low of $109.59 and a 52-week high of $161.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 2.31.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. Middleby had a net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 16.99%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.57 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Middleby Co. will post 10.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.