Is Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD) a buy, sell, or hold? The smart money is taking a bullish view. The number of bullish hedge fund bets increased by 2 in recent months.
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Just as beneficial, bullish insider trading activity is a second way to break down the investments you’re interested in. There are a variety of incentives for an insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Plenty of empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this tactic if shareholders know where to look (learn more here).
Keeping this in mind, we’re going to take a gander at the key action encompassing Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD).
What does the smart money think about Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD)?
At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 8 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 33% from the third quarter. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings significantly.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates had the largest position in Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD), worth close to $37.9 million, comprising 0.1% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Adage Capital Management, managed by Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson, which held a $19.3 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other hedge funds that are bullish include Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, Ben Levine, Andrew Manuel and Stefan Renold’s LMR Partners and Douglas W. Case’s Advanced Investment Partners.
Now, key money managers were leading the bulls’ herd. Adage Capital Management, managed by Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson, created the most outsized position in Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD). Adage Capital Management had 19.3 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group also made a $2 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new MTD positions are Douglas W. Case’s Advanced Investment Partners, Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management, and Joel Greenblatt’s Gotham Asset Management.
How are insiders trading Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD)?
Insider buying is at its handiest when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the last half-year time frame, Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 9 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also take a look at hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD). These stocks are Life Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:LIFE), PerkinElmer, Inc. (NYSE:PKI), Covance Inc. (NYSE:CVD), Quest Diagnostics Inc (NYSE:DGX), and Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH). This group of stocks belong to the medical laboratories & research industry and their market caps are closest to MTD’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Life Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:LIFE) | 32 | 0 | 4 |
| PerkinElmer, Inc. (NYSE:PKI) | 27 | 0 | 4 |
| Covance Inc. (NYSE:CVD) | 10 | 0 | 3 |
| Quest Diagnostics Inc (NYSE:DGX) | 18 | 0 | 4 |
| Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) | 23 | 0 | 1 |
With the results shown by Insider Monkey’s research, retail investors must always monitor hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD) is an important part of this process.
