The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) Stake Boosted by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 985,090 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 23,478 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 1.83% of Middleby worth $133,430,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MIDD. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Middleby by 41.1% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 398 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Middleby by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 566 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Middleby by 27.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 622 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Middleby during the third quarter worth about $88,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Middleby by 73.2% in the fourth quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 710 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 98.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Middleby Stock Performance

Middleby stock traded down $12.59 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $142.17. 1,480,324 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 621,664. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $161.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $146.49. The Middleby Co. has a fifty-two week low of $118.41 and a fifty-two week high of $182.73. The firm has a market cap of $7.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.61 and a beta of 1.72. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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. Middleby had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.14%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $996.69 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.65 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on MIDD. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Middleby from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $160.00 target price (down from $170.00) on shares of Middleby in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Middleby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Middleby from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Middleby presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $180.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction of $81,755.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.16% of the company's stock.

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.