Hills Bank & Trust Co Lowers Stock Position in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Hills Bank & Trust Co cut its holdings in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,042 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 150 shares during the period. Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Middleby were worth $547,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Middleby by 121.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,423 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $615,000 after acquiring an additional 2,425 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in shares of Middleby during the fourth quarter worth approximately $469,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new position in shares of Middleby during the fourth quarter worth approximately $219,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Middleby by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 22,929 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,106,000 after acquiring an additional 2,763 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Olstein Capital Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Middleby by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 71,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,617,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. 98.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total value of $81,755.00. Following the sale, the director now directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.17% of the company’s stock.

Middleby Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MIDD opened at $151.67 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.92 and a beta of 1.72. The Middleby Co. has a one year low of $118.41 and a one year high of $182.73. The company’s fifty day moving average is $157.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $144.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.81.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last issued its 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. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $996.69 million. Middleby had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The business’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. Analysts forecast that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. KeyCorp increased 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. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Middleby from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Middleby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 price target (down from $170.00) on shares of Middleby in a report on Thursday, December 12th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $180.86.

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.