HighTower Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD)

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD - Free Report) by 2.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,636 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 1,008 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.16% of Mettler-Toledo International worth $51,734,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 242.9% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 24 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in Mettler-Toledo International during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Mettler-Toledo International in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 95.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on MTD shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,375.00 to $1,310.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,375.00 to $1,450.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,400.00 to $1,350.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,550.00 to $1,450.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,338.75.

Mettler-Toledo International Price Performance

Shares of Mettler-Toledo International stock traded down $14.85 during trading on Thursday, reaching $1,247.90. 105,356 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 136,179. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.33 billion, a PE ratio of 33.65, a P/E/G ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $1,330.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,386.75. Mettler-Toledo International Inc. has a 1-year low of $1,086.88 and a 1-year high of $1,546.93.

Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD - Get Free Report) 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. The company had revenue of $954.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $941.93 million. Mettler-Toledo International had a negative return on equity of 531.78% and a net margin of 21.15%. Equities research analysts expect that Mettler-Toledo International Inc. will post 40.42 earnings per share for the current year.

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.