Two Sigma Investments LP Makes New Investment in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Two Sigma Investments LP purchased 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 11,970 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,621,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Middleby in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Principal Securities Inc. raised 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 purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC lifted 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 valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Middleby by 73.2% during the fourth quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 710 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of Middleby by 286.8% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 762 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.55% of the company's stock.

Middleby Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MIDD traded up $0.08 during trading on Friday, hitting $147.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 589,352 shares, compared to its average volume of 719,054. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The firm has a market cap of $7.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.31 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a 50-day moving average of $139.23 and a 200-day moving average of $146.83. The Middleby Co. has a 12 month low of $118.41 and a 12 month high of $182.73.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.14. The business 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 company's quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Middleby

In related news, Director Edward P. Garden bought 249,339 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $149.59 per share, for a total transaction of $37,298,621.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,088,263 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $461,973,262.17. This trade represents a 8.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders purchased 640,968 shares of company stock worth $93,495,270 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 6.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MIDD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Middleby from $188.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Middleby from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Middleby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $168.14.

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.