Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP Has $7.12 Million Position in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP raised its position in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 14.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 52,540 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,780 shares during the period. Middleby makes up 1.7% of Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP’s holdings in Middleby were worth $7,117,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MIDD. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Middleby by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. now owns 24,535 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,323,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in Middleby by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in Middleby by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,651 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its position in Middleby by 1.4% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 6,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $871,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its position in Middleby by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,472 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $470,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. 98.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Middleby Trading Up 0.3 %

MIDD opened at $154.41 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $8.28 billion, a PE ratio of 21.30 and a beta of 1.72. The Middleby Co. has a twelve month low of $118.41 and a twelve month high of $182.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.81. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $159.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $145.28.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MIDD shares. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Middleby from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of Middleby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Middleby from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 price objective (down from $170.00) on shares of Middleby in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $180.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Middleby 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 value 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.16% 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.