First Trust Advisors LP Reduces Stock Holdings in Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD)

First Trust Advisors LP decreased its position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD - Free Report) by 8.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,157 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 2,869 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.14% of Mettler-Toledo International worth $36,903,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 256,602 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $384,822,000 after purchasing an additional 19,609 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Mettler-Toledo International in the 3rd quarter valued at $111,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Mettler-Toledo International by 1,073.6% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 16,407 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $24,606,000 after buying an additional 15,009 shares during the period. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International in the 3rd quarter worth $1,164,000. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its holdings in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 610.4% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 33,462 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $50,183,000 after acquiring an additional 28,752 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.07% of the company's stock.

Mettler-Toledo International Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MTD traded up $3.87 on Wednesday, hitting $1,069.10. The company had a trading volume of 171,581 shares, compared to its average volume of 144,260. The company has a market cap of $22.28 billion, a PE ratio of 26.38, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50 day moving average of $1,146.09 and a 200 day moving average of $1,238.73. Mettler-Toledo International Inc. has a 52-week low of $946.69 and a 52-week high of $1,546.93.

Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $12.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $11.76 by $0.65. Mettler-Toledo International had a net margin of 22.29% and a negative return on equity of 591.54%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mettler-Toledo International Inc. will post 42.71 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MTD shares. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,369.00 to $1,034.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,450.00 to $1,475.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup raised shares of Mettler-Toledo International from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $1,400.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,400.00 to $1,125.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,304.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mettler-Toledo International news, insider Christian Magloth sold 790 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,313.69, for a total transaction of $1,037,815.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 734 shares of the company's stock, valued at $964,248.46. This trade represents a 51.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Gerry Keller sold 600 shares of Mettler-Toledo International stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,351.34, for a total value of $810,804.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6 shares in the company, valued at $8,108.04. The trade was a 99.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.