Baird Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD)

Baird Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD) by 68.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 2,722 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Mettler-Toledo International were worth $1,536,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MTD. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International during the fourth quarter valued at $372,954,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International during the fourth quarter valued at $163,216,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 36.1% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 363,107 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $444,327,000 after acquiring an additional 96,300 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 53.0% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 214,281 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $262,211,000 after acquiring an additional 74,187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Seilern Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International during the fourth quarter valued at $89,221,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.07% of the company’s stock.

Mettler-Toledo International Price Performance

NYSE MTD opened at $1,175.33 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.40. Mettler-Toledo International Inc. has a 1-year low of $946.69 and a 1-year high of $1,546.93. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,116.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,221.64.

Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $8.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.90 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $883.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $876.61 million. Mettler-Toledo International had a negative return on equity of 591.54% and a net margin of 22.29%. The company’s revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $8.89 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Mettler-Toledo International Inc. will post 42.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Mettler-Toledo International

In related news, insider Christian Magloth sold 790 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,313.69, for a total transaction of $1,037,815.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $964,248.46. This trade represents a 51.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,369.00 to $1,034.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. Citigroup raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,125.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,450.00 to $1,475.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mettler-Toledo International currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,296.13.

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.