Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD) Rating Increased to Outperform at Evercore ISI

Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD) was upgraded by Evercore ISI from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note issued on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $1,450.00 target price on the medical instruments supplier’s stock, up from their previous target price of $1,375.00. Evercore ISI’s target price suggests a potential upside of 17.10% from the company’s previous close.

MTD has been the subject of a number of other reports. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,375.00 to $1,310.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,550.00 to $1,450.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Mettler-Toledo International in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Citigroup raised Mettler-Toledo International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $1,200.00 to $1,300.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,351.25.

Mettler-Toledo International Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of MTD opened at $1,238.28 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.39, a PEG ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 1.13. Mettler-Toledo International has a 12 month low of $1,115.64 and a 12 month high of $1,546.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $1,258.07 and a 200 day moving average of $1,357.66.

Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $10.21 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $954.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $941.93 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Mettler-Toledo International will post 40.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Elisha W. Finney sold 76 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $314,820. The trade was a 24.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Gerry Keller sold 140 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,254.09, for a total transaction of $175,572.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,524.54. This represents a 95.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mettler-Toledo International

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Mettler-Toledo International by 242.9% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 24 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International in the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International in the second quarter worth $42,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Mettler-Toledo International during the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Mettler-Toledo International by 272.7% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 41 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. 95.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.