Pacer Advisors Inc. Grows Holdings in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 11,853.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 967,365 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 959,272 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned about 1.80% of Middleby worth $118,609,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MIDD. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in Middleby by 533.7% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 483,214 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $71,115,000 after purchasing an additional 406,958 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Middleby by 177.6% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 546,320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $87,843,000 after buying an additional 349,546 shares during the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its holdings in Middleby by 421.5% in the first quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 356,714 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $57,356,000 after acquiring an additional 288,314 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Middleby by 43.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 903,346 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $110,768,000 after acquiring an additional 274,513 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Middleby in the 4th quarter worth about $16,199,000. 98.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Middleby Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MIDD opened at $141.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 2.50. The company has a market capitalization of $7.60 billion, a PE ratio of 19.68 and a beta of 1.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $135.88 and a 200-day moving average of $137.13. The Middleby Co. has a one year low of $109.59 and a one year high of $161.01.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. Middleby had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 9.90%. The business had revenue of $991.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $994.05 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.47 earnings per share. Middleby’s revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Middleby Co. will post 9.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on MIDD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Middleby from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Middleby in a research report on Friday, September 13th. 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 note on Monday, July 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Middleby in a research note 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, three have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Middleby currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $156.50.

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.