Clarkston Capital Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 678,250 The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Clarkston Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 678,250 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $91,869,000. Middleby accounts for approximately 1.8% of Clarkston Capital Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC owned 1.26% of Middleby as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Middleby by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,260,935 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $712,594,000 after purchasing an additional 21,771 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Middleby by 4,494.8% during 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 period. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in Middleby by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 985,090 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $133,430,000 after acquiring an additional 23,478 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Middleby by 1.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 936,596 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $130,341,000 after acquiring an additional 8,926 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Middleby by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 654,641 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $88,671,000 after acquiring an additional 23,577 shares in the last quarter. 98.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Middleby Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MIDD opened at $135.46 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $7.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.68 and a beta of 1.72. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $161.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $146.54. The Middleby Co. has a twelve month low of $118.41 and a twelve month high of $182.73.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.65 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Middleby

In other Middleby news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of Middleby 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 6,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $999,209.61. This trade represents a 7.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MIDD shares. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Middleby from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays increased their price objective on Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com cut Middleby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $160.00 price target (down from $170.00) on shares of Middleby in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $180.86.

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.