Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD) gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $1,357.26, but opened at $1,438.46. Mettler-Toledo International shares last traded at $1,403.76, with a volume of 58,602 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MTD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,550.00 to $1,450.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Mettler-Toledo International from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $1,375.00 to $1,450.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Citigroup raised Mettler-Toledo International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $1,200.00 to $1,300.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Mettler-Toledo International in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,375.00 to $1,310.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,351.25.

Mettler-Toledo International Trading Up 3.0 %

The company has a market cap of $29.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.76, a PEG ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,276.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,343.24.

Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $12.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.76 by $0.65. Mettler-Toledo International had a net margin of 21.15% and a negative return on equity of 531.78%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mettler-Toledo International Inc. will post 40.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Mettler-Toledo International

In related news, Director Elisha W. Finney sold 76 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $314,820. This trade represents a 24.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Gerry Keller sold 140 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,254.09, for a total transaction of $175,572.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6 shares in the company, valued at $7,524.54. This trade represents a 95.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp grew its stake in Mettler-Toledo International by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 954,653 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,431,693,000 after acquiring an additional 9,009 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Mettler-Toledo International by 0.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 547,439 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $818,906,000 after purchasing an additional 4,166 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 274,563 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $335,977,000 after buying an additional 33,456 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its position in Mettler-Toledo International by 8.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 256,602 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $384,822,000 after acquiring an additional 19,609 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 221,799 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $332,634,000 after purchasing an additional 28,478 shares in the last quarter. 95.07% of the stock is 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.