Headlands Technologies LLC Acquires Shares of 3,893 The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Key Points

• Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in The Middleby Corporation, purchasing 3,893 shares valued at approximately $592,000 during the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors have increased their holdings in Middleby, with notable increases from TCTC Holdings LLC (116.7%) and Versant Capital Management Inc (760.0%) in the first quarter.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed views on Middleby, with target price reductions from JPMorgan and Robert W. Baird, and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a price target of $159.00.

Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 3,893 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $592,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 35,449 shares in the last quarter. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Middleby by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,866,359 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $252,798,000 after purchasing an additional 53,276 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Middleby by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,311,966 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $177,706,000 after purchasing an additional 47,443 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Middleby by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,247,671 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $169,000,000 after purchasing an additional 150,709 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ariel Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Middleby by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 1,198,179 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $162,293,000 after purchasing an additional 72,031 shares in the last quarter. 98.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Middleby Price Performance

MIDD traded down $0.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $119.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,252,786 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,065,483. The business's 50-day moving average price is $144.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $148.51. The Middleby Corporation has a 12 month low of $118.09 and a 12 month high of $182.73. The stock has a market cap of $6.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.23 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.57, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.15. Middleby had a net margin of 11.06% and a return on equity of 14.14%. The company had revenue of $977.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $979.59 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.39 earnings per share. Middleby's quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that The Middleby Corporation will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Edward P. Garden acquired 249,339 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $149.59 per share, for a total transaction of $37,298,621.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,088,263 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $461,973,262.17. The trade was a 8.78% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have acquired a total of 437,910 shares of company stock worth $65,243,811 in the last quarter. Insiders own 6.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of Middleby from $186.00 to $162.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Middleby from $188.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Middleby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, July 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Middleby from $145.00 to $125.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Middleby from $180.00 to $165.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $159.00.

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.