The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) Shares Sold by AlphaQuest LLC

AlphaQuest LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 90.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 658 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,470 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Middleby were worth $89,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Middleby by 820.0% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 322 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Middleby by 41.1% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 398 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in Middleby by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Middleby by 27.2% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 622 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Middleby during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $88,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MIDD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Middleby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Middleby from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Middleby from $157.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $180.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Middleby

In other Middleby news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total transaction of $81,755.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $999,209.61. This trade represents a 7.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Middleby Price Performance

MIDD opened at $153.44 on Wednesday. The Middleby Co. has a twelve month low of $118.41 and a twelve month high of $182.73. The firm has a market cap of $8.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.16 and a beta of 1.72. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $158.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $144.94.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $996.69 million. Middleby had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.14%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.