Baron Funds, an investment management company, released its “Baron Asset Fund” fourth quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. US equities ended the quarter higher primarily due to the market's strength following Donald Trump's election as president and the Republican majority in both houses of Congress. While Baron Asset Fund had a difficult fourth quarter, returning -(0.04)% (Institutional Shares) compared to the Russell Midcap Growth Index’s 8.14% return. The firm believes that the relative shortfall was caused by a number of circumstances that would only last temporarily. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.

In its fourth quarter 2024 investor letter, Baron Asset Fund emphasized stocks such as Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD). Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD) is a precision instruments and services manufacturer and supplier. The one-month return of Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD) was -0.03%, and its shares gained 8.76% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On February 13, 2025, Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD) stock closed at $1,297.14 per share with a market capitalization of $27.132 billion.

Baron Asset Fund stated the following regarding Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:

"Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD) is a leading provider of precision weighing instruments and services for customers in the life sciences, food, and chemical industries. Shares fell after Mettler reported a good quarter but guided to earnings slightly below investor expectations for the fourth quarter and 2025, which it ascribed to continued soft conditions among some healthcare and industrial customers, as well as headwinds from temporary shipment delays. We believe that Mettler’s macroeconomic headwinds will prove temporary, and its competitive position remains dominant. We expect the company will soon return to its long-term target of generating mid-teens compounded annual earnings growth."

A close-up of a laboratory instrument, with a technician making precise adjustments.

Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 42 hedge fund portfolios held Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD) at the end of the third quarter which was 42 in the previous quarter. Mettler-Toledo International Inc.'s (NYSE:MTD) sales were $1.045 billion in the fourth quarter, representing an increase of 12% in local currency and in US dollars compared to Q4 2023. While we acknowledge the potential of Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is as promising as NVIDIA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q3 2024 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.