Fruth Investment Management Reduces Stock Position in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Fruth Investment Management lowered its holdings in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 2.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 400 shares during the quarter. Fruth Investment Management’s holdings in Middleby were worth $2,894,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Middleby in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Middleby by 80.2% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 510 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. 98.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Middleby

In other news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 235 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.18, for a total value of $32,237.30. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,211 shares in the company, valued at $989,204.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 235 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.18, for a total value of $32,237.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $989,204.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John R. Miller III sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.32, for a total value of $252,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,380,803.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,385 shares of company stock worth $304,134 over the last quarter. 1.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Middleby Stock Performance

Middleby stock traded up $0.35 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $121.25. 497,453 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 545,937. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 2.40 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $129.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $141.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.89 and a beta of 1.61. The Middleby Co. has a 1 year low of $109.59 and a 1 year high of $161.01.

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

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.