Analysts Set Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD) Target Price at $1,356.25

Shares of Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD) have been given an average rating of “Reduce” by the eight brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $1,356.25.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MTD shares. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Mettler-Toledo International in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $1,400.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,510.00 to $1,550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $1,250.00 target price (up from $1,230.00) on shares of Mettler-Toledo International in a report on Monday, June 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,150.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,300.00 to $1,400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th.

Mettler-Toledo International Stock Up 1.4 %

MTD opened at $1,402.69 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $29.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.34, a PEG ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 1.14. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,406.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,373.84. Mettler-Toledo International has a 52 week low of $928.49 and a 52 week high of $1,546.93.

Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $9.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.00 by $0.65. The company had revenue of $946.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $929.13 million. Mettler-Toledo International had a net margin of 20.95% and a negative return on equity of 575.61%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $10.19 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Mettler-Toledo International will post 40.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mettler-Toledo International news, CFO Shawn Vadala sold 250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,401.00, for a total value of $350,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,884,514. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Christian Magloth sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,422.97, for a total value of $1,422,970.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 734 shares in the company, valued at $1,044,459.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Shawn Vadala sold 250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,401.00, for a total value of $350,250.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,884,514. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.94% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mettler-Toledo International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MTD. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Mettler-Toledo International by 15.1% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,075,420 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,431,696,000 after acquiring an additional 141,431 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 169.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 573,702 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $763,764,000 after purchasing an additional 360,786 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International in the 4th quarter worth about $320,847,000. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 127.4% in the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 259,629 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $362,855,000 after purchasing an additional 145,453 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 2.8% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 248,007 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $330,169,000 after purchasing an additional 6,788 shares during the last quarter. 95.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.Its industrial instruments comprise industrial weighing instruments and related terminals, automatic dimensional measurement and data capture solutions, vehicle scale systems, industrial software, metal detection equipment, x-ray systems, check weighing equipment, camera-based imaging equipment, track-and-trace solutions, and product inspection systems.