Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD) Given New $1,575.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD) had its price target increased by Morgan Stanley from $1,450.00 to $1,575.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price indicates a potential downside of 0.43% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,400.00 to $1,600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,225.00 to $1,450.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on shares of Mettler-Toledo International in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. They set a “sell” rating and a $1,200.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Mettler-Toledo International from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,575.00 to $1,700.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,469.15.

Mettler-Toledo International Stock Performance

MTD traded up $18.75 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $1,581.77. The company had a trading volume of 70,205 shares, compared to its average volume of 181,168. The business has a 50-day moving average of $1,427.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,304.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 159.45. Mettler-Toledo International has a 1 year low of $1,023.05 and a 1 year high of $1,587.74. The company has a market cap of $31.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.19.

Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $11.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.78 by $0.68. Mettler-Toledo International had a net margin of 21.91% and a negative return on equity of 1,212.14%. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $10.09 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Mettler-Toledo International will post 47.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Mettler-Toledo International

In related news, CFO Shawn Vadala sold 2,240 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,432.00, for a total transaction of $3,207,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 5,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,989,128. This represents a 28.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas Salice sold 417 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,440.41, for a total transaction of $600,650.97. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $420,599.72. The trade was a 58.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 4,254 shares of company stock worth $6,092,712 over the last ninety days. 0.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mettler-Toledo International

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MTD. XXEC Inc. purchased a new stake in Mettler-Toledo International during the second quarter valued at approximately $77,044,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International in the second quarter worth about $2,404,713,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 691,565 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $964,174,000 after acquiring an additional 3,157 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Mettler-Toledo International during the 2nd quarter valued at $762,553,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 908.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 459,064 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $586,459,000 after buying an additional 413,547 shares during the period. 95.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mettler-Toledo International Company Profile

Mettler-Toledo International Inc is a global manufacturer of precision instruments and related services used in laboratory, industrial, food processing, pharmaceutical and retail applications. The company’s solutions help customers measure, analyze, inspect and control materials and products throughout research, manufacturing and distribution processes.

Its product portfolio includes laboratory balances and scales, analytical instruments, automated chemistry systems, titrators, density and refractometry equipment, process analytics, industrial weighing systems, product inspection technologies and retail weighing and labeling solutions.