Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 344,200 shares, a decline of 15.6% from the January 31st total of 407,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 131,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,450.00 to $1,400.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,350.00 to $1,400.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird increased 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 report on Monday, February 10th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,450.00 to $1,475.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Mettler-Toledo International in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,380.50.

Mettler-Toledo International Price Performance

NYSE:MTD traded up $15.68 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $1,256.65. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 44,708 shares, compared to its average volume of 136,767. Mettler-Toledo International has a one year low of $1,142.91 and a one year high of $1,546.93. The business’s 50-day moving average is $1,291.82 and its 200-day moving average is $1,326.68. The company has a market cap of $26.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.13.

Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $12.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Mettler-Toledo International will post 42.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Mettler-Toledo International

In other Mettler-Toledo International news, insider Christian Magloth sold 790 shares of Mettler-Toledo International stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $964,248.46. The trade was a 51.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Gerry Keller sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,351.34, for a total value of $810,804.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Mettler-Toledo International in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Mettler-Toledo International during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Mettler-Toledo International during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position 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 worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Mettler-Toledo International in the 4th quarter worth $54,000. 95.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.