Holocene Advisors LP Sells 19,326 Shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Holocene Advisors LP lessened its holdings in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 37.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,883 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 19,326 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP’s holdings in Middleby were worth $4,575,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in Middleby in the second quarter valued at about $500,000. Addenda Capital Inc. grew its position in Middleby by 8.5% in the second quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. now owns 57,645 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,068,000 after acquiring an additional 4,512 shares during the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP boosted its stake in shares of Middleby by 1.6% during the second quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 925,915 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $113,526,000 after purchasing an additional 14,413 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Middleby by 11.7% during the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 96,482 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,830,000 after purchasing an additional 10,115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Middleby during the second quarter valued at about $225,000. Institutional investors own 98.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on Middleby from $164.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Middleby in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Middleby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $154.67.

Middleby Price Performance

Middleby stock opened at $143.03 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $137.98 and its 200 day moving average is $133.67. 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 firm has a market cap of $7.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.58 and a beta of 1.60. The Middleby Co. has a one year low of $118.41 and a one year high of $161.01.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $942.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $996.60 million. Middleby had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.14%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.35 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that The Middleby Co. will post 9.12 EPS 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.