Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New Investment in Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 7,473 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $9,145,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $163,216,000. Seilern Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $89,221,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 3,183.2% during the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 71,673 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $87,705,000 after buying an additional 69,490 shares during the period. Canoe Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 576.5% during the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 55,518 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $67,936,000 after buying an additional 47,311 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 274,563 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $335,977,000 after buying an additional 33,456 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christian Magloth sold 790 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,313.69, for a total value of $1,037,815.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 734 shares in the company, valued at $964,248.46. This trade represents a 51.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 stock was sold at an average price of $1,351.34, for a total value of $810,804.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6 shares in the company, valued at $8,108.04. This represents a 99.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.94% of the company’s stock.

Mettler-Toledo International Stock Performance

NYSE MTD opened at $1,198.09 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $1,292.72 and a 200-day moving average of $1,310.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.15. Mettler-Toledo International Inc. has a 52 week low of $1,142.91 and a 52 week high of $1,546.93.

Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $12.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $11.76 by $0.65. Mettler-Toledo International had a negative return on equity of 591.54% and a net margin of 22.29%. Equities research analysts forecast that Mettler-Toledo International Inc. will post 42.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MTD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Mettler-Toledo International in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Citigroup dropped their price target on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,450.00 to $1,400.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,450.00 to $1,475.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,362.00 to $1,369.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mettler-Toledo International presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,380.50.

Mettler-Toledo International 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.