KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Takes $1.49 Million Position in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 11,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,490,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MIDD. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Middleby by 4,494.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,238,767 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Middleby by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 936,596 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $130,341,000 after buying an additional 8,926 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Middleby by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 654,641 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $88,671,000 after buying an additional 23,577 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Middleby by 43.6% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 371,854 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $50,037,000 after buying an additional 112,855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Middleby by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 348,223 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $47,167,000 after buying an additional 3,832 shares during the last quarter. 98.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Middleby news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total value of $81,755.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,111 shares in the company, valued at $999,209.61. This trade represents a 7.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on MIDD. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $160.00 price target (down from $170.00) on shares of Middleby in a report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Middleby from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Middleby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Middleby from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $180.86.

Middleby Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MIDD traded up $2.03 on Wednesday, reaching $154.76. 383,305 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 617,099. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $161.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $146.52. The Middleby Co. has a 52 week low of $118.41 and a 52 week high of $182.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The firm has a market cap of $8.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.35 and a beta of 1.72.

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