Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Mettler-Toledo International, Inc. (NYSE:MTD) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $1,541.02 and last traded at $1,530.7150, with a volume of 22219 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $1,492.34.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MTD. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Mettler-Toledo International in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,460.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,225.00 to $1,450.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,275.00 to $1,450.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Rothschild & Co Redburn started coverage on Mettler-Toledo International in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. They issued a “sell” rating and a $1,200.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on Mettler-Toledo International in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $1,515.00 price target for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,446.36.

Mettler-Toledo International Stock Up 1.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 159.45, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $1,380.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,275.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.29 billion, a PE ratio of 34.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.22.

Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $11.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.78 by $0.68. Mettler-Toledo International had a negative return on equity of 1,212.14% and a net margin of 21.91%.The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $10.09 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Mettler-Toledo International, Inc. will post 47.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Gerry Keller sold 240 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,427.14, for a total value of $342,513.60. Following the transaction, the insider owned 259 shares in the company, valued at $369,629.26. This trade represents a 48.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Patrick Kaltenbach sold 942 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,425.00, for a total transaction of $1,342,350.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,384,000. This represents a 17.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 4,254 shares of company stock valued at $6,092,712 over the last ninety days. 0.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mettler-Toledo International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,404,713,000. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Mettler-Toledo International by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 969,067 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,351,064,000 after buying an additional 109,508 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Mettler-Toledo International by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 691,565 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $964,174,000 after buying an additional 3,157 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Mettler-Toledo International by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 597,448 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $830,879,000 after buying an additional 14,106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Mettler-Toledo International during the 2nd quarter worth about $762,553,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.07% of the company’s stock.

About Mettler-Toledo International

Mettler-Toledo International Inc develops and manufactures precision instruments and related services for laboratory, industrial and retail applications. Its products include laboratory balances and scales, analytical instruments, pipettes, automated chemistry systems, titration and thermal analysis equipment, and process analytics solutions.

The company also provides industrial weighing and measurement systems, product inspection technologies such as metal detection, checkweighing and vision inspection, and software and services that support manufacturing, quality control and regulatory compliance.