Duality Advisers LP Increases Position in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Duality Advisers LP lifted its holdings in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 224.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 24,751 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,133 shares during the quarter. Duality Advisers LP’s holdings in Middleby were worth $3,643,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Middleby by 230.1% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 241 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Middleby during the third quarter worth about $50,000. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Middleby by 80.2% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 510 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Middleby by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 1,090 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $160,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Naples Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Middleby in the fourth quarter valued at about $221,000. 98.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Middleby Stock Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:MIDD opened at $141.93 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.61 billion, a PE ratio of 19.15 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $151.09 and a 200-day moving average of $138.88. The Middleby Co. has a 52 week low of $109.59 and a 52 week high of $161.01. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Middleby had a return on equity of 16.99% and a net margin of 9.93%. The business’s revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.57 earnings per share. Analysts predict that The Middleby Co. will post 10.32 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Cathy L. Mccarthy sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.12, for a total transaction of $153,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,220,519.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Cathy L. Mccarthy sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.12, for a total transaction of $153,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,971 shares in the company, valued at $1,220,519.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 350 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 6,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $955,169.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.17% of the company’s stock.

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.