Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Acquires 9,713 Shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 157.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,866 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 9,713 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Middleby were worth $2,149,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MIDD. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Middleby by 4,494.8% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,266,327 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $171,524,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238,767 shares during the period. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC bought a new stake in Middleby during the 4th quarter worth about $26,930,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Middleby during the 4th quarter valued at about $20,189,000. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Middleby by 43.6% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 371,854 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $50,037,000 after purchasing an additional 112,855 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Middleby during the 4th quarter worth approximately $11,312,000. Institutional investors own 98.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total value of $81,755.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $999,209.61. The trade was a 7.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.16% of the company’s stock.

Middleby Stock Performance

Shares of MIDD stock opened at $131.59 on Friday. 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 52 week low of $118.41 and a 52 week high of $182.73. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $156.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $146.12. The company has a market capitalization of $7.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.15 and a beta of 1.44.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MIDD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Middleby from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $160.00 target price (down previously from $170.00) on shares of Middleby in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on Middleby from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $179.43.

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.