UBS Group Begins Coverage on Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD)

Equities researchers at UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD) in a note issued to investors on Wednesday. The brokerage set a “neutral” rating and a $1,460.00 price target on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. UBS Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 12.37% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on MTD. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,400.00 to $1,580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,400.00 to $1,600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Mettler-Toledo International from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Barclays boosted their price target on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,300.00 to $1,575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on Mettler-Toledo International in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. They issued a “sell” rating and a $1,200.00 price target for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mettler-Toledo International has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,446.36.

Mettler-Toledo International Stock Performance

MTD stock traded down $26.22 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $1,299.30. The stock had a trading volume of 7,882 shares, compared to its average volume of 175,917. Mettler-Toledo International has a 52 week low of $1,023.05 and a 52 week high of $1,525.17. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $1,364.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,273.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 159.45. The firm has a market cap of $26.03 billion, a PE ratio of 29.27, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.22.

Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $11.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.78 by $0.68. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. Mettler-Toledo International had a net margin of 21.91% and a negative return on equity of 1,212.14%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $10.09 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mettler-Toledo International will post 47.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Mettler-Toledo International news, CFO Shawn Vadala sold 2,240 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,432.00, for a total value of $3,207,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 5,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,989,128. This represents a 28.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Patrick Kaltenbach sold 942 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,425.00, for a total value of $1,342,350.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,384,000. This represents a 17.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 4,254 shares of company stock valued at $6,092,712 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Mettler-Toledo International

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. National Pension Service boosted its stake in Mettler-Toledo International by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 39,696 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $50,712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,916 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd raised its position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 509.0% during the second quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 4,141 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $5,290,000 after buying an additional 3,461 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 4.2% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 221 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 5.0% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,827 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $7,444,000 after buying an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 3.5% during the second quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 799 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,021,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.07% of the company’s stock.

About Mettler-Toledo International

Mettler-Toledo International Inc is a global manufacturer and distributor of precision instruments and services for laboratory, industrial and food retail applications. The company’s product portfolio includes laboratory balances and analytical instruments, industrial weighing systems, process analytics and sensors, metal detection and x-ray inspection equipment, checkweighers, and a range of automated inspection and data-management solutions. Mettler-Toledo also provides software, calibration and lifecycle services intended to support compliance, quality control and operational efficiency across customer facilities.

The company serves a broad set of end markets including pharmaceutical and biotech laboratories, chemical and food processors, logistics and manufacturing operations, and retail environments where accurate weighing and inspection are critical.