GAMMA Investing LLC Acquires 136,312 Shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) by 21,915.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 136,934 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 136,312 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC owned approximately 0.26% of Middleby worth $20,811,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MIDD. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Middleby by 760.0% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 258 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Middleby during the 4th quarter valued at about $71,000. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings 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. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Middleby by 220.6% in the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 606 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 417 shares during the period. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Middleby by 73.2% in the fourth quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 710 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.55% of the company's stock.

Middleby Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MIDD traded up $2.75 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $149.97. 928,257 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 721,421. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $139.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $146.96. The firm has a market cap of $8.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.69 and a beta of 1.61. The Middleby Co. has a one year low of $118.41 and a one year high of $182.73.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MIDD has been the topic of several research reports. Robert W. Baird dropped 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 Middleby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays upped their price objective on Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. KeyCorp dropped their target price on Middleby from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $168.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Middleby

In other news, Director Edward P. Garden acquired 203,058 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $139.13 per share, for a total transaction of $28,251,459.54. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,838,924 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $394,979,496.12. This trade represents a 7.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have bought 640,968 shares of company stock valued at $93,495,270 over the last 90 days. 6.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.