Ariel Investments LLC Has $162.29 Million Position in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Ariel Investments LLC raised its stake in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,198,179 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 72,031 shares during the quarter. Middleby accounts for about 1.7% of Ariel Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Ariel Investments LLC’s holdings in Middleby were worth $162,293,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Middleby by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,260,935 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $712,594,000 after acquiring an additional 21,771 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Middleby by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,895,553 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $256,753,000 after purchasing an additional 35,449 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC increased its position in Middleby by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,311,966 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $177,706,000 after purchasing an additional 47,443 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Middleby by 4,494.8% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,266,327 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $171,524,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238,767 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Middleby by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,247,671 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $169,000,000 after buying an additional 150,709 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total transaction of $81,755.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,111 shares in the company, valued at $999,209.61. This represents a 7.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 6.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Middleby Stock Up 3.1 %

Middleby stock opened at $138.57 on Friday. 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 fifty-two week low of $118.41 and a fifty-two week high of $182.73. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $144.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $145.42. The firm has a market cap of $7.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.11 and a beta of 1.44.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during 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 firm’s revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MIDD has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Middleby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Middleby from $157.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Middleby from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Middleby has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $179.43.

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.