Fred Alger Management LLC Trims Holdings in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Fred Alger Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 21.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 31,731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 8,911 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Middleby worth $3,891,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Middleby in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Middleby by 1,246.2% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 175 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Middleby by 97.7% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 255 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Middleby during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its position in Middleby by 620.0% in the 1st quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.55% of the company’s stock.

Middleby Stock Performance

NASDAQ MIDD opened at $141.26 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $136.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $136.82. The company has a market capitalization of $7.60 billion, a PE ratio of 19.67 and a beta of 1.58. The Middleby Co. has a 1 year low of $109.59 and a 1 year high of $161.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.43.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $991.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $994.05 million. Middleby had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 9.90%. The business’s revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.47 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that The Middleby Co. will post 9.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MIDD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Middleby from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Middleby from $155.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Middleby in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Middleby in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of Middleby from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Middleby presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $156.50.

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.