Moaty Mettler Meets Our High Expectations in Q4; Raising Fair Value Estimate to $770

Narrow-moat Mettler-Toledo International ended the year on a high note with double-digit growth and margin gains, and we are increasing our fair value estimate to $770 per share from $710. About half the increase is from our expectation that the U.S. corporate tax rate is likely to remain at 21%; time value of money and stronger-than-expected business performance also contributed to the change. The shares have traded relatively flat over the past few months, though they remain materially overvalued, in our view.