EntryPoint Capital LLC Makes New $286,000 Investment in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 2,111 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MIDD. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Middleby by 0.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 344,391 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,915,000 after purchasing an additional 2,676 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Middleby by 30.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,625 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,896,000 after purchasing an additional 3,143 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Middleby in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,145,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Middleby during the third quarter valued at about $130,000. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in Middleby by 1.4% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 6,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $871,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. 98.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of Middleby stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total transaction of $81,755.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MIDD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $160.00 target price (down from $170.00) on shares of Middleby in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com upgraded Middleby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Middleby from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays boosted their target price on Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.86.

Middleby Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ MIDD opened at $157.13 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $161.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $145.78. The Middleby Co. has a 52 week low of $118.41 and a 52 week high of $182.73. The company has a market cap of $8.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.67 and a beta of 1.72. 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) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $996.69 million. Middleby had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 14.66%. Middleby’s revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.65 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.