Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Purchases 14,647 Shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD – Get Rating) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 556,360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,647 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Middleby were worth $74,498,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Belpointe Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Middleby during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Covington Capital Management bought a new position in Middleby during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Middleby by 34.1% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 307 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Middleby by 100.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Middleby during the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. 98.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Middleby Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of MIDD opened at $135.08 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $140.34 and a 200 day moving average of $143.35. The Middleby Co. has a fifty-two week low of $120.30 and a fifty-two week high of $162.02. The firm has a market cap of $7.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.35 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 2.08.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 21st. The industrial products company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.11. Middleby had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 11.12%. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.11 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Middleby Co. will post 9.92 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on MIDD. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Middleby from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Middleby from $170.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Monday, May 15th. Benchmark lifted their target price on Middleby from $175.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Monday, May 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Middleby from $162.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 16th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on Middleby in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Middleby

In other Middleby news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 300 shares of Middleby stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.39, for a total transaction of $47,217.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,181,369.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.16% of the company’s stock.

About Middleby

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The Middleby Corp. engages in the design, manufacture, marketing, and distribution of foodservice equipment. It operates through the following segments: Commercial Foodservice Equipment Group, Food Processing Equipment Group, Residential Kitchen Equipment Group, and Corporate and Other. The Commercial Foodservice Equipment Group segment manufactures, sells, and distributes foodservice equipment for the restaurant and institutional kitchen industry.