Townsquare Capital LLC Boosts Stock Position in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Townsquare Capital LLC raised its stake in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,553 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Middleby were worth $888,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Middleby by 41.1% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 398 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Middleby during the fourth quarter worth about $71,000. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Middleby by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Middleby by 27.2% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 622 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Middleby by 73.2% in the 4th quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 710 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.55% of the company’s stock.

Middleby Stock Performance

Shares of MIDD opened at $126.91 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $152.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $145.63. The stock has a market cap of $6.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.50 and a beta of 1.44. The Middleby Co. has a 12-month low of $118.41 and a 12-month high of $182.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.38. The firm 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%. Middleby’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 6,111 shares in the company, valued at $999,209.61. This trade represents a 7.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 6.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp cut their target price on Middleby from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Middleby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays upped their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Middleby from $157.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.