T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Takes $387,000 Position in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,853 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $387,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Middleby during the 4th quarter worth approximately $71,000. Principal Securities Inc. grew 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 worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Middleby by 27.2% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 622 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Middleby by 73.2% in the fourth quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 710 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. 98.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Middleby Price Performance

NASDAQ:MIDD opened at $130.82 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $7.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.04 and a beta of 1.44. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $148.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $145.63. The Middleby Co. has a one year low of $118.41 and a one 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.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.88 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $996.69 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total transaction of $81,755.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $999,209.61. This trade represents a 7.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 6.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MIDD shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Middleby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Middleby from $157.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays boosted their price target on Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of Middleby from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Middleby from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Middleby presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $179.43.

Middleby 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.