Peak6 LLC Invests $2.12 Million in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

PEAK6 LLC acquired a new position in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 15,646 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $2,119,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MIDD. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Middleby by 4,494.8% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,266,327 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $171,524,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238,767 shares in the last quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Middleby during the fourth quarter valued at $91,869,000. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Middleby in the 4th quarter valued at $26,930,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Middleby in the 4th quarter worth about $20,189,000. Finally, Amundi increased its position in shares of Middleby by 43.6% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 371,854 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $50,037,000 after purchasing an additional 112,855 shares in the last quarter. 98.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Middleby

In related news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total value of $81,755.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,111 shares in the company, valued at $999,209.61. This represents a 7.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 6.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on MIDD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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 lifted their price objective on Middleby from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Middleby from $157.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Middleby from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $179.43.

Middleby Trading Up 2.3 %

MIDD stock traded up $2.90 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $131.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 130,443 shares, compared to its average volume of 679,068. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $149.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $145.47. The stock has a market cap of $7.03 billion, a PE ratio of 18.08 and a beta of 1.44. The Middleby Co. has a 52 week low of $118.41 and a 52 week high of $182.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

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

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.