Gotham Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Gotham Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) by 75.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,817 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 38,758 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC's holdings in Middleby were worth $1,736,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Middleby by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. now owns 24,535 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,323,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Middleby by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 566 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Middleby by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,651 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in shares of Middleby by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 7,167 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $971,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of Middleby by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,472 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $470,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.55% of the company's stock.

Middleby Price Performance

Shares of MIDD stock traded up $0.53 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $145.54. The company had a trading volume of 162,719 shares, compared to its average volume of 904,387. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $141.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $146.07. The Middleby Co. has a 52-week low of $118.41 and a 52-week high of $182.73. The company has a market capitalization of $7.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.11 and a beta of 1.65.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Middleby news, Director Edward P. Garden bought 37,473 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $148.40 per share, with a total value of $5,560,993.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,125,736 shares in the company, valued at $463,859,222.40. This trade represents a 1.21% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total transaction of $81,755.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at $999,209.61. This trade represents a 7.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 503,968 shares of company stock worth $73,215,160. Corporate insiders own 6.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MIDD shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Middleby from $188.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of Middleby from $200.00 to $186.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. KeyCorp dropped their target price 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. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $168.14.

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.