Teza Capital Management LLC Makes New $2.13 Million Investment in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Teza Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 15,715 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,129,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MIDD. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Middleby by 41.1% during the 4th 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 period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Middleby in the 4th quarter worth $71,000. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Middleby by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Middleby by 220.6% in the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 606 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Middleby by 73.2% in the 4th quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 710 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.55% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MIDD shares. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on shares of Middleby from $200.00 to $186.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of Middleby from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Middleby from $188.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $168.14.

Middleby Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MIDD opened at $151.49 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $141.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $8.13 billion, a PE ratio of 20.90 and a beta of 1.65. The Middleby Co. has a 52-week low of $118.41 and a 52-week high of $182.73.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $906.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $941.46 million. Middleby had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.89 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Edward P. Garden purchased 203,058 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $139.13 per share, with a total value of $28,251,459.54. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,838,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $394,979,496.12. This trade represents a 7.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of Middleby stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 6,111 shares in the company, valued at $999,209.61. This represents a 7.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 466,495 shares of company stock valued at $67,654,167. 6.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Middleby 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.