Xponance Inc. Raises Stake in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Xponance Inc. increased its stake in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,124 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Middleby were worth $829,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Middleby by 820.0% in the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 322 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Middleby by 41.1% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 398 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Middleby by 27.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 622 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Middleby during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $88,000. 98.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 6,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $999,209.61. This trade represents a 7.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.16% of the company’s stock.

Middleby Stock Performance

Shares of MIDD stock opened at $158.54 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.87 and a beta of 1.72. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $160.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $145.46. The Middleby Co. has a one year low of $118.41 and a one year high of $182.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.81.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MIDD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 price target (down previously from $170.00) on shares of Middleby in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Middleby from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Middleby from $157.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $180.86.

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.