Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Grows Position in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) by 218.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,842 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 14,991 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Middleby were worth $3,214,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MIDD. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Middleby by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,696,476 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $251,621,000 after purchasing an additional 198,859 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Middleby by 54.3% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 38,356 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,910,000 after acquiring an additional 13,493 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Middleby by 28.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 56,712 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $7,259,000 after purchasing an additional 12,589 shares in the last quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Middleby by 16.0% during the 3rd quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 49,494 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $6,335,000 after buying an additional 6,843 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Middleby by 426.4% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 220,232 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,190,000 after acquiring an additional 178,393 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.55% of the company's stock.

Middleby Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of MIDD stock traded down $0.12 on Wednesday, reaching $154.97. 344,281 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 358,396. The company has a market capitalization of $8.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.91 and a beta of 1.56. The Middleby Co. has a 12-month low of $109.59 and a 12-month high of $161.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 2.31. The business's 50 day moving average price is $150.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $137.29.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.21. Middleby had a net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 16.99%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.57 EPS. Middleby's quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Middleby Co. will post 10.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MIDD shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Middleby from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Middleby from a "c+" rating to a "b-" rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Middleby from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $159.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Middleby

In other news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.47, for a total value of $53,014.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,306 shares of the company's stock, valued at $955,169.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Cathy L. Mccarthy sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.12, for a total value of $153,120.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,220,519.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 350 shares of Middleby stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.47, for a total transaction of $53,014.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,306 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $955,169.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.16% of the company's stock.

Middleby 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.