Teton Advisors Inc. Decreases Stake in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Teton Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 14,820 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,200 shares during the quarter. Teton Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Middleby were worth $2,181,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Middleby by 230.1% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 241 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC bought a new position in shares of Middleby during the third quarter valued at about $50,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Middleby by 1,158.3% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 453 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Middleby by 80.2% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 510 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Middleby in the fourth quarter worth about $75,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Middleby

In other Middleby news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.47, for a total value of $53,014.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,306 shares in the company, valued at $955,169.82. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related 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 transaction of $53,014.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $955,169.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Cathy L. Mccarthy sold 1,000 shares of Middleby stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 7,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,220,519.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Middleby Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of MIDD traded up $0.90 on Monday, reaching $142.15. The stock had a trading volume of 354,484 shares, compared to its average volume of 338,332. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 2.31. The Middleby Co. has a 12-month low of $109.59 and a 12-month high of $161.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.18 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $150.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $139.53.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Middleby had a return on equity of 16.99% and a net margin of 9.93%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.57 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that The Middleby Co. will post 10.27 EPS for the current year.

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.