Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Makes New Investment in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 12,755 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,564,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Greenleaf Trust boosted its stake in Middleby by 4.3% in the first quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,807 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Middleby by 4.8% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,022 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Mendota Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Middleby by 10.0% during the second quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 1,150 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of Middleby by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,552 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MIDD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Middleby from $155.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. KeyCorp decreased their target price on Middleby from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Middleby from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. William Blair upgraded Middleby to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $159.00 price objective on shares of Middleby in a report on Thursday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Middleby presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $154.71.

Middleby Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MIDD traded up $1.25 on Wednesday, hitting $139.76. The stock had a trading volume of 345,904 shares, compared to its average volume of 474,727. The stock has a market cap of $7.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.47 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $129.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $138.72. The Middleby Co. has a 52-week low of $109.59 and a 52-week high of $161.01.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $991.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $994.05 million. Middleby had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 9.90%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.47 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that The Middleby Co. will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Middleby news, Director John R. Miller III sold 2,000 shares of Middleby stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.32, for a total value of $252,640.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,380,803.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.16% of the company’s stock.

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.