Legal & General Group Plc Invests $228.88 Million in Mettler-Toledo International, Inc. $MTD

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International, Inc. (NYSE:MTD) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 179,163 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $228,883,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.89% of Mettler-Toledo International at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Mettler-Toledo International in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International during the second quarter worth $26,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 45.5% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 32 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. 95.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Gerry Keller sold 240 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider directly owned 259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $369,629.26. The trade was a 48.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Shawn Vadala sold 2,240 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,432.00, for a total value of $3,207,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 5,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,989,128. This represents a 28.65% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 3,312 shares of company stock valued at $4,750,362 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on MTD. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,400.00 to $1,600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Mettler-Toledo International in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,300.00 to $1,575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,400.00 to $1,580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Mettler-Toledo International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,461.27.

Mettler-Toledo International Stock Performance

NYSE MTD opened at $1,401.16 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $1,334.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,273.95. The stock has a market cap of $28.08 billion, a PE ratio of 31.54, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.23. Mettler-Toledo International, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $1,023.05 and a fifty-two week high of $1,525.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 159.45, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.12.

Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $11.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.78 by $0.68. Mettler-Toledo International had a negative return on equity of 1,212.14% and a net margin of 21.91%.The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $10.09 EPS. Mettler-Toledo International’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Mettler-Toledo International, Inc. will post 47.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Mettler-Toledo International

Mettler-Toledo International Inc is a global manufacturer and distributor of precision instruments and services for laboratory, industrial and food retail applications. The company’s product portfolio includes laboratory balances and analytical instruments, industrial weighing systems, process analytics and sensors, metal detection and x-ray inspection equipment, checkweighers, and a range of automated inspection and data-management solutions. Mettler-Toledo also provides software, calibration and lifecycle services intended to support compliance, quality control and operational efficiency across customer facilities.

The company serves a broad set of end markets including pharmaceutical and biotech laboratories, chemical and food processors, logistics and manufacturing operations, and retail environments where accurate weighing and inspection are critical.