Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC Grows Stock Position in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its holdings in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) by 21.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,971 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 1,239 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC's holdings in Middleby were worth $1,022,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Select Equity Group L.P. raised its stake in Middleby by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 4,536,791 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $607,476,000 after buying an additional 541,956 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Middleby by 3.3% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,740,299 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $401,755,000 after buying an additional 88,789 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Middleby by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,171,437 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $290,756,000 after buying an additional 407,150 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Middleby by 5.4% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,826,029 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $299,359,000 after purchasing an additional 94,230 shares during the period. Finally, Sarasin & Partners LLP increased its holdings in shares of Middleby by 67.5% in the first quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 1,735,092 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $342,403,000 after purchasing an additional 699,205 shares during the period. 99.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MIDD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on Middleby from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 18th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Middleby in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Middleby from $170.00 to $175.00 in a report on Monday, May 15th. Finally, Benchmark cut their price objective on Middleby from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $174.00.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Middleby

In other Middleby news, CTO James K. Pool III sold 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.78, for a total transaction of $188,475.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 39,158 shares in the company, valued at $5,904,243.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Robert A. Nerbonne bought 720 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 21st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $139.32 per share, for a total transaction of $100,310.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,996 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,507,202.72. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CTO James K. Pool III sold 1,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.78, for a total value of $188,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 39,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,904,243.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Middleby stock opened at $143.46 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $7.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.18 and a beta of 1.55. The Middleby Co. has a 52 week low of $122.33 and a 52 week high of $162.02. The business's 50-day moving average price is $145.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $144.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Middleby had a return on equity of 18.15% and a net margin of 11.14%. Middleby's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.23 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Middleby Co. will post 9.64 earnings per share for the current year.

The Middleby Corporation designs, manufactures, markets, 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, and IoT solutions.

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