82,179 Shares in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) Acquired by Vulcan Value Partners LLC

Vulcan Value Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 82,179 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,131,000. Vulcan Value Partners LLC owned approximately 0.15% of Middleby at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MIDD. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Middleby by 41.1% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 398 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Middleby in the 4th quarter valued at $71,000. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Middleby by 220.6% during the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 606 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.55% of the company’s stock.

Middleby Stock Performance

Shares of MIDD stock opened at $130.82 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $7.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.04 and a beta of 1.44. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $148.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $145.46. 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 Middleby Co. has a 12 month low of $118.41 and a 12 month high of $182.73.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $996.69 million. Middleby had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.14%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.65 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MIDD. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Middleby from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com cut Middleby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Middleby from $157.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of Middleby from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $179.43.

Insider Transactions at Middleby

In related news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total transaction of $81,755.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,111 shares in the company, valued at $999,209.61. This trade represents a 7.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.18% of the company’s stock.

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.