Martin Currie Ltd. Sells 9,512 Shares of Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD)

Martin Currie Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD) by 14.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 55,812 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 9,512 shares during the period. Mettler-Toledo International accounts for about 2.5% of Martin Currie Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Martin Currie Ltd.’s holdings in Mettler-Toledo International were worth $68,296,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Mettler-Toledo International during the 4th quarter valued at $372,954,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International during the fourth quarter valued at $163,216,000. Seilern Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International in the fourth quarter valued at about $89,221,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its stake in Mettler-Toledo International by 3,183.2% in the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 71,673 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $87,705,000 after acquiring an additional 69,490 shares during the period. Finally, Canoe Financial LP grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 47,311 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.07% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mettler-Toledo International news, insider Gerry Keller sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 6 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,108.04. The trade was a 99.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Christian Magloth sold 790 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $964,248.46. The trade was a 51.84 % 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.

Mettler-Toledo International Stock Performance

Mettler-Toledo International stock opened at $1,176.04 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $24.51 billion, a PE ratio of 29.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $1,283.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,303.51. Mettler-Toledo International Inc. has a one year low of $1,142.91 and a one year high of $1,546.93.

Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 22.29% and a negative return on equity of 591.54%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mettler-Toledo International Inc. will post 42.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MTD. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of 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, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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 lifted 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 upped their price objective on 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. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on Mettler-Toledo International in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,380.50.

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.