Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD) by 36.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,733 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 1,263 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Mettler-Toledo International were worth $7,099,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 242.9% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 24 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Mettler-Toledo International in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in Mettler-Toledo International in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Mettler-Toledo International in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 95.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mettler-Toledo International Stock Performance

Shares of Mettler-Toledo International stock opened at $1,224.99 on Tuesday. Mettler-Toledo International Inc. has a 52-week low of $1,059.08 and a 52-week high of $1,546.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.03, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $1,358.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,399.52.

Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $10.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.00 by $0.21. Mettler-Toledo International had a net margin of 21.15% and a negative return on equity of 531.78%. The firm had revenue of $954.54 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $941.93 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Mettler-Toledo International Inc. will post 40.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,375.00 to $1,310.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,400.00 to $1,350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,300.00 to $1,400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,375.00 to $1,450.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,550.00 to $1,450.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mettler-Toledo International has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,338.75.

Insider Transactions at Mettler-Toledo International

In other news, Director Elisha W. Finney sold 76 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,311.75, for a total transaction of $99,693.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $314,820. The trade was a 24.05 % 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 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.