Vulcan Value Partners LLC Buys New Shares in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Vulcan Value Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 82,179 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $11,131,000. Vulcan Value Partners LLC owned about 0.15% of Middleby as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Middleby by 220.6% during the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 606 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Middleby during the fourth quarter worth approximately $387,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Middleby by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,895,553 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $256,753,000 after acquiring an additional 35,449 shares in the last quarter. Wolf Hill Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Middleby by 79.8% in the fourth quarter. Wolf Hill Capital Management LP now owns 331,132 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $44,852,000 after purchasing an additional 146,945 shares during the period. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its stake in Middleby by 338.7% in the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,474 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $199,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138 shares in the last quarter. 98.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MIDD has been the subject of several research reports. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Middleby from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Middleby from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Middleby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Middleby from $157.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Middleby currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $179.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at Middleby

In other news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 6,111 shares in the company, valued at $999,209.61. This represents a 7.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 6.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Middleby Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ MIDD traded up $1.28 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $134.63. 444,022 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 686,428. The Middleby Co. has a 12 month low of $118.41 and a 12 month high of $182.73. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $145.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $145.44. 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 $7.22 billion, a PE ratio of 18.53 and a beta of 1.44.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 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 quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 EPS for the current year.

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.