Mettler-Toledo International, Inc. $MTD Stock Sold by Bell Asset Management Ltd

Key Points

• Bell Asset Management cut its Mettler-Toledo stake by 62.9% in the third quarter, selling 1,976 shares and retaining 1,165 shares valued at approximately $1.76 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 95.07% of the stock.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly neutral: MTD has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $1,459.54, despite recent target increases from Barclays, Wells Fargo and Jefferies.
• The stock opened at $1,527.52, near its 52-week high of $1,585.72. In its latest quarter, Mettler-Toledo beat earnings expectations with EPS of $11.46 and reported 4.5% year-over-year revenue growth to $1.03 billion.

Bell Asset Management Ltd lessened its position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International, Inc. (NYSE:MTD - Free Report) by 62.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,165 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 1,976 shares during the period. Bell Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Mettler-Toledo International were worth $1,760,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Mettler-Toledo International in the second quarter valued at $2,404,713,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Mettler-Toledo International by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 691,565 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $964,174,000 after buying an additional 3,157 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International during the 2nd quarter worth about $762,553,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 908.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 459,064 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $586,459,000 after acquiring an additional 413,547 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 40.7% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 240,640 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $307,420,000 after acquiring an additional 69,620 shares during the last quarter. 95.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MTD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised Mettler-Toledo International from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,575.00 to $1,700.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on shares of Mettler-Toledo International in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. They issued a "sell" rating and a $1,200.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,400.00 to $1,580.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,459.54.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mettler-Toledo International news, CEO Patrick Kaltenbach sold 942 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,425.00, for a total transaction of $1,342,350.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 4,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,384,000. The trade was a 17.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Shawn Vadala sold 2,240 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 5,579 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,989,128. This trade represents a 28.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 4,254 shares of company stock worth $6,092,712 over the last quarter. 0.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Mettler-Toledo International Stock Performance

NYSE MTD opened at $1,527.52 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 159.45. Mettler-Toledo International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $1,023.05 and a 52-week high of $1,585.72. The business's 50-day moving average price is $1,422.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,299.94. The firm has a market cap of $30.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.19.

Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $11.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $10.09 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Mettler-Toledo International, Inc. will post 47.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Mettler-Toledo International Profile

Mettler-Toledo International Inc is a global manufacturer of precision instruments and related services used in laboratory, industrial, food processing, pharmaceutical and retail applications. The company's solutions help customers measure, analyze, inspect and control materials and products throughout research, manufacturing and distribution processes.

Its product portfolio includes laboratory balances and scales, analytical instruments, automated chemistry systems, titrators, density and refractometry equipment, process analytics, industrial weighing systems, product inspection technologies and retail weighing and labeling solutions.

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