Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Reduces Stock Position in The Middleby Corporation $MIDD

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its stake in The Middleby Corporation by 0.5%, selling 6,341 shares, which leaves it with a total of 1,241,330 shares valued at approximately $188 million.
• Several other institutional investors increased their positions in Middleby, with significant purchases including Ameriprise Financial's 237.2% lift and GAMMA Investing's massive 21,915.1% increase.
• Wall Street analysts have recently adjusted their price targets for Middleby, with Canaccord Genuity lowering its target from $186 to $162, while Zacks Research has rated the stock a "strong sell".

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP cut its position in shares of The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) by 0.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,241,330 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 6,341 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 2.31% of Middleby worth $188,655,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MIDD. Mariner LLC raised its position in Middleby by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 7,723 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,046,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in Middleby during the 4th quarter valued at $231,000. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in Middleby during the 4th quarter valued at $284,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Middleby in the 4th quarter worth $420,000. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP bought a new position in shares of Middleby in the 4th quarter worth $348,000. 98.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on MIDD shares. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Middleby from $188.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Middleby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 20th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on Middleby from $186.00 to $162.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Middleby from $145.00 to $125.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Middleby to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $159.00.

Middleby Stock Up 5.5%

NASDAQ:MIDD traded up $7.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $137.31. 792,081 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,214,674. The company has a fifty day moving average of $141.35 and a 200 day moving average of $145.83. The Middleby Corporation has a twelve month low of $118.09 and a twelve month high of $182.73. The company has a market capitalization of $6.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.47 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 2.57.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.15. Middleby had a return on equity of 14.14% and a net margin of 11.06%.The company had revenue of $977.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $979.59 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.39 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that The Middleby Corporation will post 9.11 EPS for the current year.

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.