The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) Shares Sold by Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP

Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP lowered its stake in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) by 35.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,760 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 24,647 shares during the period. Middleby comprises 1.4% of Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP's portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP owned 0.09% of Middleby worth $6,367,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MIDD. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Middleby by 11,853.1% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 967,365 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $118,609,000 after acquiring an additional 959,272 shares during the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. raised its position in shares of Middleby by 15.4% during the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 6,360,288 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $779,835,000 after purchasing an additional 846,884 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Middleby by 43.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 903,346 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $110,768,000 after buying an additional 274,513 shares during the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC increased its position in Middleby by 58.0% during the second quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 510,127 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $62,547,000 after buying an additional 187,304 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Middleby by 30.6% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 713,618 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $87,497,000 after acquiring an additional 167,298 shares in the last quarter. 98.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on MIDD. StockNews.com upgraded Middleby from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on shares of Middleby from $164.00 to $155.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Middleby from $155.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Middleby from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Middleby in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $154.67.

Middleby Trading Down 3.3 %

NASDAQ:MIDD traded down $4.79 on Tuesday, hitting $142.18. 541,356 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 507,226. The stock has a market cap of $7.65 billion, a PE ratio of 19.61 and a beta of 1.58. The Middleby Co. has a fifty-two week low of $118.41 and a fifty-two week high of $161.01. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $137.94 and a 200-day moving average of $133.39.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.48 by ($0.15). Middleby had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The business had revenue of $942.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $996.60 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.35 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Middleby Co. will post 9.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Middleby

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.