Vulcan Value Partners LLC Sells 52,829 Shares of The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Key Points

• Vulcan Value Partners LLC reduced its stake in The Middleby Corporation by 64.3%, selling 52,829 shares and holding approximately 29,350 shares valued at $4.46 million as of the latest quarter.
• Despite the share reduction by Vulcan, other institutional investors, including Price T Rowe Associates and Turtle Creek Asset Management, have increased their holdings, indicating a strong overall interest with 98.55% of the stock owned by institutions.
• Middleby recently reported earnings of $2.08 EPS, surpassing analyst expectations, but revenue declined by 2.2% compared to the previous year, highlighting mixed financial performance.

Vulcan Value Partners LLC lessened its stake in The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) by 64.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,350 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 52,829 shares during the period. Vulcan Value Partners LLC owned about 0.05% of Middleby worth $4,461,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MIDD. Garden Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Middleby during the fourth quarter valued at $101,958,000. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Middleby during the fourth quarter valued at $91,869,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Middleby by 237.2% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 366,293 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $49,614,000 after acquiring an additional 257,669 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 150,709 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Middleby during the fourth quarter valued at $20,189,000. Institutional investors own 98.55% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of Middleby from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on shares of Middleby from $200.00 to $186.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Middleby from $180.00 to $165.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Middleby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, July 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Middleby from $188.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $166.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Middleby

In other news, Director Edward P. Garden bought 249,339 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $149.59 per share, for a total transaction of $37,298,621.01. Following the purchase, the director 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders bought 640,968 shares of company stock worth $93,495,270. Insiders own 6.18% of the company's stock.

Middleby Price Performance

Middleby stock traded up $0.37 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $142.10. 185,899 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 861,319. The company has a quick ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The business has a fifty day moving average of $146.20 and a 200 day moving average of $149.02. The Middleby Corporation has a 1-year low of $121.70 and a 1-year high of $182.73. The company has a market capitalization of $7.62 billion, a PE ratio of 17.78 and a beta of 1.58.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $906.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $941.46 million. Middleby had a return on equity of 14.47% and a net margin of 11.26%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.89 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Middleby Corporation will post 9.11 earnings per share 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.