Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Increases Stake in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its stake in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 1.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,913 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 608 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp owned about 0.09% of Middleby worth $7,543,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MIDD. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Middleby in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Middleby by 1,246.2% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 175 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Middleby by 230.1% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 241 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Middleby in the 1st quarter worth approximately $63,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Middleby by 1,158.3% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 453 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 417 shares during the period. 98.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Middleby

In other Middleby news, Director John R. Miller III sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.32, for a total value of $252,640.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,380,803.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Middleby news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 235 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.18, for a total value of $32,237.30. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $989,204.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John R. Miller III sold 2,000 shares of Middleby stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.32, for a total value of $252,640.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,380,803.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,385 shares of company stock worth $304,134. Corporate insiders own 1.17% of the company’s stock.

Middleby Price Performance

Middleby stock traded up $2.69 during trading on Thursday, reaching $125.13. The company had a trading volume of 431,873 shares, compared to its average volume of 426,036. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $127.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $140.30. The Middleby Co. has a 1-year low of $109.59 and a 1-year high of $161.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.73 billion, a PE ratio of 17.43 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 2.40.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The industrial products company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.16). Middleby had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 15.88%. The company had revenue of $926.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $979.05 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.19 EPS. Middleby’s revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Middleby Co. will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MIDD. William Blair upgraded shares of Middleby to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Middleby from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $118.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Middleby from $166.00 to $159.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Middleby in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $153.43.

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.