StockNews.com Upgrades Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD) to “Buy”

Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday.

Separately, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,200.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,233.25.

Mettler-Toledo International Stock Down 2.0 %

Mettler-Toledo International stock opened at $1,229.70 on Monday. Mettler-Toledo International has a 12-month low of $928.49 and a 12-month high of $1,525.14. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $1,276.64 and its 200 day moving average is $1,179.90. The company has a market capitalization of $26.30 billion, a PE ratio of 34.26, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.15.

Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $9.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.32 by ($0.92). Mettler-Toledo International had a net margin of 20.82% and a negative return on equity of 904.59%. The company had revenue of $934.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $959.45 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $12.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Mettler-Toledo International will post 39.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Christian Magloth sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,278.73, for a total value of $511,492.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 734 shares in the company, valued at $938,587.82. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Mettler-Toledo International news, CFO Shawn Vadala sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,210.83, for a total transaction of $363,249.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,914 shares in the company, valued at $5,950,018.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Christian Magloth sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,278.73, for a total transaction of $511,492.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $938,587.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 951 shares of company stock worth $1,170,256. Insiders own 1.94% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mettler-Toledo International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MV Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 162.5% in the fourth quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 21 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Bellevue Group AG bought a new position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 95.07% of the company’s stock.

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.