New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Acquires New Stake in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,901 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $257,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MIDD. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake 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 worth $171,524,000 after buying an additional 1,238,767 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC purchased a new stake in Middleby in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,930,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Middleby during the 4th quarter worth approximately $20,189,000. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Middleby by 43.6% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 371,854 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $50,037,000 after purchasing an additional 112,855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Middleby in the 4th quarter valued at $11,312,000. 98.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MIDD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays lifted their price target on Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Middleby from $157.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Middleby from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on Middleby from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Middleby currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $180.86.

Middleby Price Performance

Shares of MIDD traded down $6.71 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $135.46. 1,346,599 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 626,658. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $161.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $146.59. The Middleby Co. has a 12-month low of $118.41 and a 12-month high of $182.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.81. The company has a market cap of $7.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.68 and a beta of 1.44.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $996.69 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 up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Middleby

In other news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now directly owns 6,111 shares in the company, valued at $999,209.61. This represents a 7.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Middleby Company 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.