Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD)’s share price gapped up before the market opened 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on MTD. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,400.00 to $1,350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,550.00 to $1,450.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,375.00 to $1,310.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Mettler-Toledo International from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $1,375.00 to $1,450.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Mettler-Toledo International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $1,200.00 to $1,300.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mettler-Toledo International has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,351.25.

Mettler-Toledo International Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $1,276.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,343.24. The stock has a market cap of $29.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 1.13.

Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $12.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Mettler-Toledo International Inc. will post 40.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Mettler-Toledo International

In other Mettler-Toledo International news, insider Gerry Keller sold 140 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,254.09, for a total transaction of $175,572.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,524.54. This represents a 95.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Elisha W. Finney sold 76 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,311.75, for a total transaction of $99,693.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $314,820. This represents a 24.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.94% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mettler-Toledo International

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Mettler-Toledo International during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 242.9% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 24 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Mettler-Toledo International during the third quarter valued at $37,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International in the fourth quarter worth about $54,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Mettler-Toledo International by 4,500.0% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 46 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.