Choate Investment Advisors Reduces Stock Position in Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD)

Choate Investment Advisors cut its stake in Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD) by 16.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,197 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 433 shares during the period. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in Mettler-Toledo International were worth $2,688,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Mettler-Toledo International by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 408 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $499,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Mettler-Toledo International in the fourth quarter valued at about $122,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in Mettler-Toledo International by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 706 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $864,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its holdings in Mettler-Toledo International by 77.6% in the fourth quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 10,485 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $12,791,000 after buying an additional 4,581 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Achmea Investment Management B.V. increased its holdings in Mettler-Toledo International by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 33,371 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $40,835,000 after buying an additional 573 shares in the last quarter. 95.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mettler-Toledo International

In other news, insider Christian Magloth sold 790 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,313.69, for a total value of $1,037,815.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $964,248.46. This trade represents a 51.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Gerry Keller sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,351.34, for a total transaction of $810,804.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. 1.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Mettler-Toledo International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MTD opened at $1,231.32 on Friday. Mettler-Toledo International Inc. has a 1 year low of $1,142.91 and a 1 year high of $1,546.93. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $1,295.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,317.46. The firm has a market cap of $25.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.15.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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 report on Monday, February 10th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Mettler-Toledo International in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,450.00 to $1,475.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,450.00 to $1,400.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently 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.