Inspire Investing LLC Sells 89 Shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Inspire Investing LLC trimmed its stake in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,968 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 89 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Middleby were worth $944,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MIDD. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Middleby by 133.3% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Middleby by 306.5% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Middleby by 93.2% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 282 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Middleby by 820.0% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 322 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Middleby by 91.8% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 489 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the period. 98.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Middleby Stock Performance

Middleby stock opened at $145.65 on Friday. The Middleby Co. has a fifty-two week low of $118.41 and a fifty-two week high of $161.01. The stock has a market cap of $7.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09 and a beta of 1.61. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $138.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $136.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.81.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.48 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $942.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $996.60 million. Middleby had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.14%. Middleby’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.35 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that The Middleby Co. will post 9.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Middleby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Middleby in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective (down from $170.00) on shares of Middleby in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $154.67.

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.