Clarkston Capital Partners LLC Sells 43,592 Shares of The Middleby Corporation $MIDD

Clarkston Capital Partners LLC lessened its stake in The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 6.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 649,172 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 43,592 shares during the quarter. Middleby makes up approximately 1.9% of Clarkston Capital Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Middleby were worth $86,294,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Middleby during the 2nd quarter worth $478,000. Olstein Capital Management L.P. grew its position in Middleby by 34.2% in the third quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 57,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,577,000 after acquiring an additional 14,538 shares in the last quarter. Vestor Capital LLC increased its stake in Middleby by 268.0% in the second quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 3,680 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $530,000 after acquiring an additional 2,680 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new stake in Middleby during the third quarter valued at about $11,701,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Partners Ltd bought a new stake in Middleby during the third quarter worth about $2,144,000. Institutional investors own 98.55% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MIDD. Barclays set a $168.00 price objective on Middleby and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Middleby in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $187.00 target price on Middleby and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Zacks Research cut shares of Middleby from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Middleby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.17.

Middleby Stock Down 3.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:MIDD opened at $150.78 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -26.31 and a beta of 1.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $155.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $140.52. The company has a current ratio of 2.57, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The Middleby Corporation has a 12-month low of $110.82 and a 12-month high of $169.44.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $334.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Middleby had a negative net margin of 7.44% and a positive return on equity of 14.57%. The company’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.88 EPS. Middleby has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.200-9.360 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.900-2.020 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Middleby Corporation will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert A. Nerbonne purchased 780 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $128.52 per share, with a total value of $100,245.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 21,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,759,452.92. This represents a 3.77% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 6.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Middleby Profile

Middleby Corporation is a global manufacturer and distributor of commercial foodservice and food processing equipment. The company designs, engineers and markets a wide range of cooking, baking, refrigeration, warewashing, holding and dispensing solutions. Middleby’s products serve restaurants, hotels, convenience stores, institutional cafeterias, cruise ships and other foodservice operators.

The company’s portfolio spans multiple well-known brands, including Blodgett ovens, TurboChef rapid‐cook ovens, Southbend ranges and broilers, Pitco fryers, and Viking residential and commercial kitchen appliances.