United Services Automobile Association Invests $544,000 in The Middleby Corporation $MIDD

Key Points

• United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in The Middleby Corporation, purchasing 3,560 shares valued at approximately $544,000.
• During the 1st quarter, several hedge funds and institutional investors increased their positions in Middleby significantly, with Price T Rowe Associates boosting its holdings by 59.8%.
• The company reported earnings of $2.35 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates, although its revenue decreased by 1.4% year-over-year.

United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,560 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $544,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new stake in shares of Middleby in the 4th quarter worth approximately $206,000. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP bought a new stake in shares of Middleby in the 4th quarter worth approximately $470,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 3,816 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seven Six Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Middleby in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,751,000. 98.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Middleby Stock Down 3.0%

NASDAQ MIDD traded down $4.19 during trading on Friday, reaching $134.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 522,046 shares, compared to its average volume of 759,699. The company has a current ratio of 2.57, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.82 billion, a PE ratio of 17.12 and a beta of 1.54. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $139.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $142.92. The Middleby Corporation has a 1-year low of $118.09 and a 1-year high of $182.73.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $977.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 previous year, the company earned $2.39 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that The Middleby Corporation will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MIDD shares. Wolfe Research set a $163.00 target price on shares of Middleby and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Zacks Research raised shares of Middleby to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Middleby from $180.00 to $165.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Middleby from $145.00 to $125.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Middleby from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $160.71.

About Middleby

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.