Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Sells 2,969 Shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. lowered its position in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 23.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,786 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,969 shares during the period. Lecap Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Middleby were worth $1,362,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MIDD. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Middleby by 133.3% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Middleby by 97.7% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 255 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Middleby by 93.2% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 282 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Middleby during the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors own 98.55% of the company’s stock.

Middleby Price Performance

Middleby stock opened at $136.12 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.96 and a beta of 1.58. The Middleby Co. has a one year low of $109.59 and a one year high of $161.01. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $137.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $134.20. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $991.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $994.05 million. Middleby had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 9.90%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.47 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Middleby Co. will post 9.63 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on MIDD. KeyCorp decreased their price target on Middleby from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Middleby from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Raymond James started coverage on Middleby in a report on Friday, June 28th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Middleby in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Middleby from $155.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $156.17.

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.