Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the nine analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $1,351.25.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup raised Mettler-Toledo International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $1,200.00 to $1,300.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,400.00 to $1,350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,375.00 to $1,310.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,550.00 to $1,450.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,375.00 to $1,450.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Gerry Keller sold 140 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,254.09, for a total value of $175,572.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,524.54. This represents a 95.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Elisha W. Finney sold 76 shares of Mettler-Toledo International stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,311.75, for a total value of $99,693.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 240 shares in the company, valued at $314,820. This represents a 24.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mettler-Toledo International

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in Mettler-Toledo International in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp boosted its stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 22.7% in the second quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 1,829 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,556,000 after buying an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International in the second quarter valued at about $238,000. Railway Pension Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,258,000. Finally, Crew Capital Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 15.2% in the 2nd quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd. now owns 668 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $934,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. 95.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mettler-Toledo International Stock Performance

MTD opened at $1,230.74 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.18, a P/E/G ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,283.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,370.98. Mettler-Toledo International has a 52-week low of $1,115.64 and a 52-week high of $1,546.93.

Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $10.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.00 by $0.21. Mettler-Toledo International had a net margin of 21.15% and a negative return on equity of 531.78%. The company had revenue of $954.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $941.93 million. Research analysts forecast that Mettler-Toledo International will post 40.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Mettler-Toledo International

Mettler-Toledo International Inc manufactures and supplies precision instruments and services in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and internationally. It operates through five segments: U.S. Operations, Swiss Operations, Western European Operations, Chinese Operations, and Other. The company’s laboratory instruments include laboratory balances, liquid pipetting solutions, automated laboratory reactors, real-time analytics, titrators, pH meters, process analytics sensors and analyzer technologies, physical value analyzers, density and refractometry, thermal analysis systems, and other analytical instruments; and LabX, a laboratory software platform to manage and analyze data generated from its instruments.