The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) Stock Position Boosted by Atria Investments Inc

Atria Investments Inc lifted its position in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) by 533.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,348 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 8,714 shares during the quarter. Atria Investments Inc's holdings in Middleby were worth $1,440,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Middleby by 11,853.1% in the 2nd 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 period. Select Equity Group L.P. increased its stake in Middleby by 15.4% in the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 6,360,288 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $779,835,000 after purchasing an additional 846,884 shares during the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in Middleby by 421.5% during the first quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 356,714 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $57,356,000 after buying an additional 288,314 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Middleby by 43.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 903,346 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $110,768,000 after purchasing an additional 274,513 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ariel Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Middleby by 58.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 510,127 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $62,547,000 after purchasing an additional 187,304 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.55% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Middleby in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Middleby from $155.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Middleby from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on shares of Middleby from $164.00 to $155.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Middleby from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Middleby has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $154.67.

Middleby Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MIDD traded up $0.32 on Friday, reaching $136.00. 555,034 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 506,577. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The Middleby Co. has a fifty-two week low of $118.41 and a fifty-two week high of $161.01. The business's 50-day moving average is $136.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $133.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.76 and a beta of 1.58.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.48 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $942.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $996.60 million. Middleby had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.35 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Middleby Co. will post 9.2 EPS for the current 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.