Quantinno Capital Management LP Grows Stock Position in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) by 74.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,923 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,816 shares during the quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP's holdings in Middleby were worth $1,209,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MIDD. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Middleby by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. now owns 24,535 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,323,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Middleby by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 566 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Middleby by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,651 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in Middleby by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 7,167 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $971,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Middleby by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,472 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $470,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. 98.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Middleby Stock Performance

MIDD stock traded down $1.17 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $149.40. 60,435 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 713,474. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $140.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $146.35. The firm has a market cap of $8.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.61 and a beta of 1.65. The Middleby Co. has a 1-year low of $118.41 and a 1-year high of $182.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 1.70.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $906.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $941.46 million. Middleby had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.14%. Middleby's revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.89 EPS. On average, analysts expect that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Edward P. Garden purchased 249,339 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $149.59 per share, with a total value of $37,298,621.01. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,088,263 shares of the company's stock, valued at $461,973,262.17. The trade was a 8.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $999,209.61. This represents a 7.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders acquired 503,968 shares of company stock worth $73,215,160 over the last three months. 6.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MIDD shares. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on Middleby from $200.00 to $186.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of Middleby from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Middleby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Middleby from $188.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $168.14.

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.