Franklin Resources Inc. Decreases Holdings in Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD)

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD - Free Report) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 278,750 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 3,633 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 1.32% of Mettler-Toledo International worth $341,101,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 462 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $693,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its position in Mettler-Toledo International by 2.2% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 1,155 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,732,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in Mettler-Toledo International by 4.1% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 5,989 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $8,982,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in Mettler-Toledo International by 12.3% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 915 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,372,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new position in Mettler-Toledo International in the third quarter valued at about $289,000. 95.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Christian Magloth sold 790 shares of Mettler-Toledo International stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,313.69, for a total transaction of $1,037,815.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 734 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $964,248.46. The trade was a 51.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Gerry Keller sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was 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 owns 6 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,108.04. This trade represents a 99.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Mettler-Toledo International Price Performance

Shares of MTD traded down $73.27 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $1,021.97. 424,774 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 133,519. Mettler-Toledo International Inc. has a one year low of $1,000.72 and a one year high of $1,546.93. The firm has a market cap of $21.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.22, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $1,264.13 and a 200-day moving average of $1,294.45.

Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $12.41 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mettler-Toledo International Inc. will post 42.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MTD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Mettler-Toledo International in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price target on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,450.00 to $1,400.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,350.00 to $1,400.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mettler-Toledo International has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $1,380.50.

Mettler-Toledo International Company 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.