First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Invests $219,000 in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new stake 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 fund acquired 1,617 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Middleby by 133.3% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Middleby by 306.5% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Middleby by 93.2% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 282 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Middleby by 820.0% in the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 322 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Middleby by 91.8% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 489 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.55% of the company’s stock.

Middleby Stock Up 0.7 %

MIDD stock opened at $172.89 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.85 and a beta of 1.61. The Middleby Co. has a 52-week low of $118.41 and a 52-week high of $177.90. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $140.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $138.12.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.48 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $942.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $996.60 million. Middleby had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 14.66%. Middleby’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.35 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Middleby Co. will post 9.12 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MIDD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective (down previously from $170.00) on shares of Middleby in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Middleby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Middleby from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Middleby from $155.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Middleby from $157.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $174.67.

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.