Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Acquires 150,709 Shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) by 13.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,247,671 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 150,709 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 2.32% of Middleby worth $169,000,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. MML Investors Services LLC acquired a new position in Middleby during the third quarter worth $223,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Middleby in the 3rd quarter valued at about $639,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Middleby by 27.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 622 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Middleby in the 4th quarter valued at about $200,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Middleby by 4,494.8% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,266,327 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $171,524,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238,767 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.55% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MIDD shares. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Middleby from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays increased their price target on Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Middleby from $157.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased 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 issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Middleby has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $179.43.

Middleby Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MIDD traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $130.80. 73,806 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 682,546. The Middleby Co. has a one year low of $118.41 and a one year high of $182.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.81. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $147.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $145.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.02 billion, a PE ratio of 18.04 and a beta of 1.44.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $996.69 million. Middleby had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Middleby

In other news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total value of $81,755.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $999,209.61. The trade was a 7.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.18% of the company's stock.

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.