Franklin Resources Inc. Has $341.10 Million Stake in Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD)

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its position in Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 278,750 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 3,633 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 1.32% of Mettler-Toledo International worth $341,101,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 462 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $693,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 2.2% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 1,155 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,732,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 4.1% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 5,989 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $8,982,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 915 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,372,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International during the 3rd quarter valued at about $289,000. 95.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mettler-Toledo International Stock Performance

NYSE MTD opened at $1,182.55 on Tuesday. Mettler-Toledo International Inc. has a twelve month low of $1,136.00 and a twelve month high of $1,546.93. The stock has a market cap of $24.65 billion, a PE ratio of 29.18, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,281.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,301.57.

Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $12.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.76 by $0.65. Mettler-Toledo International had a negative return on equity of 591.54% and a net margin of 22.29%. Research analysts forecast that Mettler-Toledo International Inc. will post 42.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Christian Magloth sold 790 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 734 shares in the company, valued at $964,248.46. This trade represents a 51.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Gerry Keller sold 600 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 6 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,108.04. This represents a 99.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MTD. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Mettler-Toledo International in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,350.00 to $1,400.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,450.00 to $1,475.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,450.00 to $1,400.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,362.00 to $1,369.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,380.50.

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.