Southeast Asset Advisors LLC Sells 4,346 Shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Southeast Asset Advisors LLC cut its holdings in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) by 10.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 38,231 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 4,346 shares during the quarter. Middleby makes up approximately 0.6% of Southeast Asset Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Southeast Asset Advisors LLC owned about 0.07% of Middleby worth $5,178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Middleby by 121.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,423 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $615,000 after buying an additional 2,425 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Middleby in the fourth quarter worth $469,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. bought a new position in shares of Middleby during the fourth quarter valued at $219,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Middleby by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 22,929 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,106,000 after purchasing an additional 2,763 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Olstein Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in Middleby by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 71,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $9,617,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.55% of the company's stock.

Middleby Stock Performance

Shares of MIDD stock traded up $0.60 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $132.19. 1,316,512 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 659,163. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $155.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $146.07. The company has a market cap of $7.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.23 and a beta of 1.44. 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 current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 1.70.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $996.69 million. Middleby had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 14.66%. Middleby's revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MIDD has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com lowered Middleby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. KeyCorp lowered their price target on Middleby from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Barclays lifted their price objective on Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Middleby from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Middleby currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $179.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total value of $81,755.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $999,209.61. The trade was a 7.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.