Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD) Stock Price

Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD - Free Report) had its price target reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $1,400.00 to $1,125.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the medical instruments supplier's stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,362.00 to $1,369.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,450.00 to $1,475.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Mettler-Toledo International from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $1,400.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,304.25.

Mettler-Toledo International Stock Performance

NYSE:MTD traded up $34.36 on Thursday, hitting $1,004.51. 211,228 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 141,063. Mettler-Toledo International has a 52 week low of $946.69 and a 52 week high of $1,546.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.28. The company's 50-day moving average price is $1,178.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,255.16.

Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $12.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Mettler-Toledo International will post 42.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Mettler-Toledo International

In other news, insider Christian Magloth sold 790 shares of Mettler-Toledo International stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,313.69, for a total value of $1,037,815.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 734 shares of the company's stock, valued at $964,248.46. This trade represents a 51.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Gerry Keller sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,351.34, for a total transaction of $810,804.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,108.04. The trade was 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mettler-Toledo International

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Mettler-Toledo International in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Mettler-Toledo International by 70.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 41 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International during the fourth quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 4,500.0% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 46 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.07% of the company's stock.

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.