Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Raises Holdings in Mettler-Toledo International, Inc. (NYSE:MTD)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Mettler-Toledo International by 42.4% in the first quarter, holding 12,057 shares valued at $14.2 million.
• Several large investors have significantly boosted their positions in Mettler-Toledo, with GAMMA Investing LLC increasing its stake by an astonishing 131,246.3%.
• Mettler-Toledo International reported $10.09 earnings per share for the recent quarter, surpassing analysts’ expectations and reflecting a year-over-year revenue increase of 3.9%.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mettler-Toledo International, Inc. (NYSE:MTD - Free Report) by 42.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,057 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 3,590 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned 0.06% of Mettler-Toledo International worth $14,238,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 558,471 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $682,340,000 after purchasing an additional 11,032 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Mettler-Toledo International by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 455,739 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $557,680,000 after acquiring an additional 25,873 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Mettler-Toledo International by 131,246.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 386,158 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $456,018,000 after acquiring an additional 385,864 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 36.1% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 363,107 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $444,327,000 after purchasing an additional 96,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 2.1% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 280,319 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $331,032,000 after purchasing an additional 5,756 shares during the last quarter. 95.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michael A. Kelly sold 1,062 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,159.93, for a total value of $1,231,845.66. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 120 shares in the company, valued at $139,191.60. This represents a 89.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.94% of the company's stock.

Mettler-Toledo International Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:MTD traded up $3.04 on Tuesday, reaching $1,234.92. The company had a trading volume of 63,879 shares, compared to its average volume of 175,817. Mettler-Toledo International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $946.69 and a 52-week high of $1,521.01. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $1,195.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,192.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.67 billion, a PE ratio of 31.27, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 1.34.

Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $10.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $9.58 by $0.51. The company had revenue of $983.22 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $957.41 million. Mettler-Toledo International had a negative return on equity of 476.07% and a net margin of 21.46%. The firm's revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $9.65 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Mettler-Toledo International, Inc. will post 42.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Mettler-Toledo International from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $1,200.00 to $1,110.00 in a research note on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group upgraded Mettler-Toledo International from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $1,530.00 to $1,350.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Barclays began coverage on Mettler-Toledo International in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $1,325.00 price target for the company. Bank of America increased their target price on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,200.00 to $1,260.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Mettler-Toledo International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,300.00.

Mettler-Toledo International Company Profile

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.