AQR Capital Management LLC Sells 15,200 Shares of The Middleby Corporation $MIDD

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in The Middleby Corporation by 21.1%, selling 15,200 shares during the first quarter, now holding a total of 56,848 shares valued at approximately $8.57 million.
• Various institutional investors increased their holdings significantly, with TCTC Holdings LLC boosting their stake by 116.7% and Versant Capital Management Inc by 760.0% during the same period.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Middleby, with a current average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $161.13, reflecting recent performance adjustments from firms like JPMorgan Chase and Canaccord Genuity.

AQR Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) by 21.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,848 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 15,200 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.11% of Middleby worth $8,566,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new stake in shares of Middleby in the 4th quarter worth $206,000. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP bought a new stake in shares of Middleby in the 4th quarter worth $470,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Middleby by 74.7% in the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 8,923 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,209,000 after acquiring an additional 3,816 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Middleby by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,517 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $341,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seven Six Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Middleby in the 4th quarter worth $3,751,000. Institutional investors own 98.55% of the company's stock.

Middleby Stock Performance

NASDAQ MIDD traded down $0.74 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $133.95. 822,066 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 735,757. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.04 and a beta of 1.54. The Middleby Corporation has a 12-month low of $118.09 and a 12-month high of $182.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 2.57. The business has a 50 day moving average of $138.63 and a 200-day moving average of $142.44.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MIDD. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Middleby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Middleby from $145.00 to $125.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Wolfe Research set a $163.00 target price on shares of Middleby and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Middleby from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Middleby to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $160.71.

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.