Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 5,756 Shares of Mettler-Toledo International, Inc. (NYSE:MTD)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Mettler-Toledo International, Inc. (NYSE:MTD - Free Report) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 280,319 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 5,756 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 1.35% of Mettler-Toledo International worth $331,032,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MTD. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Mettler-Toledo International during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Mettler-Toledo International by 583.3% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 41 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Mettler-Toledo International during the 4th quarter valued at $67,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Mettler-Toledo International by 520.0% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 62 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. 95.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mettler-Toledo International Trading Up 0.3%

Mettler-Toledo International stock traded up $3.43 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $1,209.08. 41,859 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 150,220. Mettler-Toledo International, Inc. has a one year low of $946.69 and a one year high of $1,546.93. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $1,150.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,196.01. The company has a market cap of $25.12 billion, a PE ratio of 30.15, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 1.37.

Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $8.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $7.90 by $0.29. Mettler-Toledo International had a negative return on equity of 556.22% and a net margin of 22.17%. The company had revenue of $883.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $876.61 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $8.89 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Mettler-Toledo International, Inc. will post 42.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,369.00 to $1,034.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Bank of America raised 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 note on Thursday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,125.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Mettler-Toledo International from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $1,200.00 to $1,110.00 in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Mettler-Toledo International in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $1,325.00 price objective on the stock. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,300.36.

Insider Transactions at Mettler-Toledo International

In other news, Director Michael A. Kelly sold 1,062 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,159.93, for a total transaction of $1,231,845.66. Following the sale, the director owned 120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $139,191.60. The trade was a 89.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.94% of the company's stock.

Mettler-Toledo International 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.