2,567 Shares in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) Purchased by Forum Financial Management LP

Forum Financial Management LP bought a new stake in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 2,567 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $348,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. MML Investors Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Middleby during the 3rd quarter worth about $223,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Middleby during the third quarter valued at approximately $639,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Middleby in the third quarter valued at approximately $891,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew 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 worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Middleby during the 4th quarter worth $200,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.55% of the company’s stock.

Middleby Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MIDD opened at $124.01 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $151.27 and a 200-day moving average of $145.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The Middleby Co. has a one year low of $118.41 and a one year high of $182.73. The stock has a market cap of $6.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.10 and a beta of 1.44.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the director now owns 6,111 shares of the company’s stock, 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 6.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MIDD. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Middleby from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Middleby from $157.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Middleby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their target price on Middleby from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Middleby has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $179.43.

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.