Freestone Grove Partners LP Invests $6.36 Million in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 46,944 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $6,359,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP owned 0.09% of Middleby at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Middleby by 121.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,423 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $615,000 after acquiring an additional 2,425 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in shares of Middleby during the 4th quarter valued at about $469,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Middleby by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 22,929 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,106,000 after buying an additional 2,763 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. bought a new position in Middleby in the fourth quarter worth about $219,000. Finally, Olstein Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Middleby by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 71,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $9,617,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.55% of the company's stock.

Middleby Stock Performance

Shares of MIDD stock opened at $138.57 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.11 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.81. The Middleby Co. has a one year low of $118.41 and a one year high of $182.73. The company's 50-day moving average is $144.64 and its 200 day moving average is $145.42.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.38. Middleby had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $996.69 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.65 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MIDD has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays increased their target price on Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Middleby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of Middleby from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Middleby from $157.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Middleby currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $179.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.18% of the company's stock.

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.

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