304,781 Shares in Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD) Bought by Norges Bank

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 304,781 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $372,954,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.44% of Mettler-Toledo International as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Mettler-Toledo International by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 221,799 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $332,634,000 after acquiring an additional 28,478 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 14.3% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 4,926 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $7,387,000 after purchasing an additional 615 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 367.4% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 215 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Mettler-Toledo International by 29.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 105,823 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $129,919,000 after buying an additional 24,285 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in Mettler-Toledo International by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 34,370 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $42,058,000 after buying an additional 5,234 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.07% of the company’s stock.

Mettler-Toledo International Stock Performance

NYSE:MTD opened at $1,176.04 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,283.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,303.51. Mettler-Toledo International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $1,142.91 and a fifty-two week high of $1,546.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.15.

Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $12.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Mettler-Toledo International Inc. will post 42.71 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Mettler-Toledo International

In other news, insider Christian Magloth sold 790 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 734 shares in the company, valued at $964,248.46. This represents a 51.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Gerry Keller sold 600 shares of Mettler-Toledo International stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of 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 raised 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 target price 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. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Mettler-Toledo International in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective 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 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,380.50.

Mettler-Toledo International 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.