Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC Increases Stake in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) by 25.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 63,075 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 12,905 shares during the quarter. Middleby accounts for about 1.8% of Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Middleby worth $8,544,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 1,238,767 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Middleby by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,138,999 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $158,469,000 after buying an additional 171,634 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Middleby by 275.2% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 185,885 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $25,862,000 after acquiring an additional 136,345 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Middleby in the third quarter valued at $10,928,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Middleby during the third quarter valued at $4,486,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.55% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MIDD shares. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Middleby from $155.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com lowered Middleby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated 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. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Middleby from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $165.00.

Middleby Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MIDD traded up $2.03 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $171.75. 2,595,663 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 892,991. The Middleby Co. has a 52-week low of $118.41 and a 52-week high of $177.90. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $9.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.69 and a beta of 1.61. The company's 50 day moving average price is $140.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $137.78.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.48 by ($0.15). Middleby had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.14%. The company 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 company earned $2.35 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Middleby Co. will post 9.12 earnings per share 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.