Southeast Asset Advisors LLC Sells 4,346 Shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Southeast Asset Advisors LLC lowered its stake in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 10.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,346 shares during the quarter. Middleby makes up 0.6% of Southeast Asset Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Southeast Asset Advisors LLC owned about 0.07% of Middleby worth $5,178,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Middleby by 111.7% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 6,058 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $843,000 after acquiring an additional 3,196 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Middleby during the third quarter worth approximately $4,486,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Middleby by 38.8% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 5,107 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $711,000 after purchasing an additional 1,428 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Middleby in the 3rd quarter valued at about $223,000. Finally, M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in Middleby by 133.4% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 6,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $920,000 after acquiring an additional 3,783 shares during the period. 98.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Middleby news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of Middleby stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 6,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $999,209.61. The trade was a 7.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Middleby Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MIDD opened at $135.46 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $161.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $146.59. The Middleby Co. has a 52-week low of $118.41 and a 52-week high of $182.73. The company has a market cap of $7.27 billion, a PE ratio of 18.68 and a beta of 1.44.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $996.69 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.65 earnings per share. Middleby’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Middleby Co. will post 9.11 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MIDD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $160.00 price target (down previously from $170.00) on shares of Middleby in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Middleby from $157.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted 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. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Middleby from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $180.86.

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.