The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) Shares Bought by Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd.

Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. grew its position in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) by 40.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 65,972 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 18,912 shares during the quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. owned approximately 0.12% of Middleby worth $8,936,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $171,524,000 after buying an additional 1,238,767 shares during the last quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Middleby during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $91,869,000. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Middleby during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,930,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Middleby by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,247,671 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $169,000,000 after purchasing an additional 150,709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Middleby during the 4th quarter worth approximately $20,189,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.55% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Middleby news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of Middleby stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 6,111 shares in the company, valued at $999,209.61. The trade was a 7.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 6.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Middleby Stock Performance

Middleby stock opened at $130.58 on Tuesday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $147.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $145.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.01 billion, a PE ratio of 18.01 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.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.38. Middleby had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.14%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $996.69 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.65 EPS. Middleby's revenue for the quarter 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 fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp cut their price objective on Middleby from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com lowered Middleby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Middleby from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays raised their price target on Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "underweight" 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $179.43.

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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