ING Groep NV Reduces Stock Position in Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD)

ING Groep NV reduced its stake in Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD) by 1.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,838 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 36 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Mettler-Toledo International were worth $4,256,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MTD. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in Mettler-Toledo International in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position 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 valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Mettler-Toledo International during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in Mettler-Toledo International during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Mettler-Toledo International in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. 95.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MTD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,300.00 to $1,400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,550.00 to $1,450.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,400.00 to $1,350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,375.00 to $1,310.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,338.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Elisha W. Finney sold 76 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,311.75, for a total value of $99,693.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $314,820. This trade represents a 24.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mettler-Toledo International Stock Performance

MTD stock opened at $1,179.58 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.89 billion, a PE ratio of 31.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 1.16. Mettler-Toledo International Inc. has a one year low of $1,041.49 and a one year high of $1,546.93. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $1,385.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,400.67.

Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $10.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $954.54 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $941.93 million. On average, research analysts predict that Mettler-Toledo International Inc. will post 40.37 EPS for the current year.

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.