Duality Advisers LP Raises Stock Holdings in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Duality Advisers LP increased its stake in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 224.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 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.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cardinal Capital Management raised its stake in Middleby by 3.7% in the third quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 5,604 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $717,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its stake in Middleby by 0.3% in the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 149,279 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $19,108,000 after buying an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC raised its stake in Middleby by 6.9% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 2,038 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in Middleby in the third quarter valued at about $389,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates purchased a new stake in Middleby in the third quarter valued at about $575,000. 98.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Middleby

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

Middleby Stock Down 0.5 %

Middleby stock opened at $141.93 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $7.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.15 and a beta of 1.56. The Middleby Co. has a 52 week low of $109.59 and a 52 week high of $161.01. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $151.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $138.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 2.31 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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.21. Middleby had a return on equity of 16.99% and a net margin of 9.93%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.57 earnings per share. Middleby’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Middleby Co. will post 10.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Middleby 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.