Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Mettler-Toledo International, Inc. (NYSE:MTD) shares hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $1,721.00 and last traded at $1,716.9650, with a volume of 9,601 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $1,685.32.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on MTD. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Mettler-Toledo International in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $1,515.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,400.00 to $1,600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,575.00 to $1,700.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Rothschild & Co Redburn started coverage on shares of Mettler-Toledo International in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. They issued a “sell” rating and a $1,200.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Mettler-Toledo International in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,460.00 target price for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,469.15.

Mettler-Toledo International Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $34.14 billion, a PE ratio of 38.36 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $1,477.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,336.82.

Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $11.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.78 by $0.68. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. The business’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $10.09 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Mettler-Toledo International, Inc. will post 47.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Mettler-Toledo International

In other Mettler-Toledo International news, insider Gerry Keller sold 240 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,427.14, for a total transaction of $342,513.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 259 shares in the company, valued at $369,629.26. This trade represents a 48.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Thomas Salice sold 417 shares of Mettler-Toledo International stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,440.41, for a total value of $600,650.97. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $420,599.72. The trade was a 58.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,254 shares of company stock worth $6,092,712. 0.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mettler-Toledo International

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MTD. National Pension Service boosted its holdings in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 7.9% during the second quarter. National Pension Service now owns 39,696 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $50,712,000 after acquiring an additional 2,916 shares during the period. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super acquired a new stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International in the 1st quarter worth about $26,372,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Mettler-Toledo International in the 2nd quarter valued at about $240,817,000. Corient Private Wealth LP grew its position in Mettler-Toledo International by 421.7% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 26,147 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $33,402,000 after purchasing an additional 21,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,283,000. Institutional investors own 95.07% of the company’s stock.

About Mettler-Toledo International

Mettler-Toledo International Inc (NYSE: MTD) develops and manufactures precision instruments and related services for laboratory, industrial, and retail applications. Its products help customers weigh, measure, analyze, inspect, and control materials and processes with high accuracy.

The company’s laboratory offerings include balances and scales, analytical instruments, titration and pH systems, thermal analysis equipment, spectroscopy products, laboratory automation solutions, and associated software.