11,000 Shares in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) Bought by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 11,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,490,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Middleby by 41.1% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 398 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Middleby by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Middleby by 27.2% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 622 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Middleby in the 3rd quarter valued at $88,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Middleby by 73.2% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.55% of the company’s stock.

Middleby Stock Performance

Shares of MIDD opened at $152.76 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.07 and a beta of 1.72. The Middleby Co. has a 12 month low of $118.41 and a 12 month high of $182.73. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $161.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $145.93. 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) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.38. Middleby had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $996.69 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.65 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Middleby

In other news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the 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 owns 6,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $999,209.61. This represents a 7.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MIDD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Middleby from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Middleby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Middleby from $157.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective (down from $170.00) on shares of Middleby in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.86.

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.