Studio Investment Management LLC Buys 175 Shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Studio Investment Management LLC raised its stake in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,531 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Studio Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Middleby were worth $491,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MIDD. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Middleby by 4.0% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,278 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Middleby by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,022 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Middleby by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,868 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Middleby by 10.0% in the second quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 1,150 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Middleby by 97.7% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 255 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.55% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MIDD shares. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on shares of Middleby from $164.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Middleby in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Middleby from $155.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded Middleby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Middleby from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $154.67.

Middleby Stock Performance

Shares of MIDD opened at $138.66 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $7.46 billion, a PE ratio of 19.13 and a beta of 1.58. The Middleby Co. has a 1 year low of $118.41 and a 1 year high of $161.01. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $137.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $133.40.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $942.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $996.60 million. Middleby had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The company’s revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.35 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Middleby Co. will post 9.2 EPS 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.