Legal & General Group Plc Invests $9.59 Million in The Middleby Corporation $MIDD

Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 55,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,588,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.12% of Middleby as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MIDD. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Middleby by 49.2% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,772,249 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $858,161,000 after purchasing an additional 1,902,957 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Middleby in the second quarter valued at about $676,035,000. Garden Investment Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Middleby by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Garden Investment Management L.P. now owns 3,379,737 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $502,466,000 after buying an additional 102,903 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Middleby by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,153,171 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $320,112,000 after buying an additional 75,047 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Middleby by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,486,120 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $220,950,000 after acquiring an additional 58,696 shares during the last quarter. 98.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Middleby Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of MIDD opened at $111.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.05 and a beta of 1.31. The Middleby Corporation has a 12-month low of $109.68 and a 12-month high of $180.13. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $134.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $144.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The industrial products company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.26. Middleby had a negative net margin of 13.22% and a positive return on equity of 17.44%. The company had revenue of $875.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $836.99 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.35 earnings per share. Middleby’s revenue was down 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Middleby has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.670-1.830 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 6.730-6.890 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Middleby Corporation will post 6.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on MIDD. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Middleby from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Seaport Research Partners set a $145.00 price target on Middleby in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen cut Middleby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $160.00 price objective (down from $205.00) on shares of Middleby in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, KeyCorp set a $152.00 price objective on Middleby in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $160.75.

About Middleby

Middleby Corporation is a global manufacturer and distributor of commercial foodservice and food processing equipment. The company designs, engineers and markets a wide range of cooking, baking, refrigeration, warewashing, holding and dispensing solutions. Middleby’s products serve restaurants, hotels, convenience stores, institutional cafeterias, cruise ships and other foodservice operators.

The company’s portfolio spans multiple well-known brands, including Blodgett ovens, TurboChef rapid?cook ovens, Southbend ranges and broilers, Pitco fryers, and Viking residential and commercial kitchen appliances.