First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Buys 237 Shares of Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its position in Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD) by 23.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,249 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 237 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Mettler-Toledo International were worth $1,663,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 933,989 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,132,891,000 after acquiring an additional 27,386 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Mettler-Toledo International by 9.6% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 267,167 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $296,041,000 after buying an additional 23,305 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International in the fourth quarter valued at $320,847,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 65.4% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 241,219 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $292,589,000 after acquiring an additional 95,421 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 29.4% in the 4th quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 197,182 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $239,174,000 after acquiring an additional 44,847 shares during the last quarter. 95.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mettler-Toledo International Stock Down 0.2 %

Mettler-Toledo International stock traded down $2.97 during trading on Thursday, hitting $1,354.10. The stock had a trading volume of 71,143 shares, compared to its average volume of 155,148. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $1,407.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,296.75. Mettler-Toledo International Inc. has a 1 year low of $928.49 and a 1 year high of $1,535.86. The stock has a market cap of $28.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 1.17.

Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $8.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.61 by $1.28. Mettler-Toledo International had a negative return on equity of 662.32% and a net margin of 20.55%. The firm had revenue of $925.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $879.72 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $8.69 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Mettler-Toledo International Inc. will post 40.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas P. Salice sold 1,268 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,490.18, for a total value of $1,889,548.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $363,603.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Mettler-Toledo International news, Director Thomas P. Salice sold 1,268 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,490.18, for a total value of $1,889,548.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $363,603.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Christian Magloth sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,470.97, for a total value of $1,618,067.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 734 shares in the company, valued at $1,079,691.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,278 shares of company stock valued at $4,871,849 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on MTD shares. StockNews.com lowered Mettler-Toledo International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,212.00 to $1,360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $1,250.00 target price (up previously from $1,230.00) on shares of Mettler-Toledo International in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,375.00 to $1,390.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,270.00 to $1,510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,267.50.

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.Its industrial instruments comprise industrial weighing instruments and related terminals, automatic dimensional measurement and data capture solutions, vehicle scale systems, industrial software, metal detection equipment, x-ray systems, check weighing equipment, camera-based imaging equipment, track-and-trace solutions, and product inspection systems.