The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) Shares Bought by Xponance Inc.

Xponance Inc. increased its stake in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,124 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Middleby were worth $829,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in Middleby in the third quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Middleby by 820.0% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 322 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the period. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in Middleby in the 3rd quarter worth $306,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Middleby by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 344,391 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,915,000 after buying an additional 2,676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Middleby by 30.0% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,625 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,896,000 after acquiring an additional 3,143 shares during the last quarter. 98.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Middleby Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MIDD opened at $158.54 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $160.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $145.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.81. The Middleby Co. has a 1-year low of $118.41 and a 1-year high of $182.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.87 and a beta of 1.72.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.38. Middleby had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $996.69 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.65 earnings per share. Middleby’s quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Middleby news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 approximately $999,209.61. This trade represents a 7.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MIDD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Middleby from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird raised 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, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Middleby from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Middleby currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $180.86.

Middleby Company 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.