Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC Reduces Stake in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC decreased its position in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 11.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,250 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Middleby were worth $440,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in shares of Middleby by 18.1% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 5,883 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $721,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Middleby by 43.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 903,346 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $110,768,000 after buying an additional 274,513 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Middleby during the second quarter worth $867,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Middleby by 27.4% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 76,345 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,361,000 after acquiring an additional 16,432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Middleby by 35.2% in the second quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 482,389 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $59,146,000 after acquiring an additional 125,675 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MIDD. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $160.00 target price (down previously from $170.00) on shares of Middleby in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of Middleby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Middleby in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.67.

Middleby Price Performance

Middleby stock opened at $142.03 on Tuesday. The Middleby Co. has a 1 year low of $118.41 and a 1 year high of $161.01. 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 has a 50 day moving average price of $138.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.60. The company has a market cap of $7.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.59 and a beta of 1.61.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by ($0.15). Middleby had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.14%. The firm had revenue of $942.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $996.60 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.35 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that The Middleby Co. will post 9.12 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.