Ameriprise Financial Inc. Boosts Holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 315,324 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 11,335 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.54% of Merit Medical Systems worth $30,498,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the 4th quarter valued at about $283,000. Comerica Bank boosted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 211,500 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $20,456,000 after acquiring an additional 8,987 shares during the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in Merit Medical Systems in the fourth quarter valued at about $199,000. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its position in Merit Medical Systems by 33.4% in the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 3,617 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $350,000 after buying an additional 906 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Merit Medical Systems by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 750,936 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $72,631,000 after buying an additional 85,483 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on MMSI. Barrington Research decreased their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $116.00 to $112.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $116.00 to $108.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $127.00 to $108.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $108.67.

Insider Activity at Merit Medical Systems

In other Merit Medical Systems news, insider Brian G. Lloyd sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.50, for a total transaction of $2,487,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 38,993 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,879,803.50. This trade represents a 39.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 31,320 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.86, for a total transaction of $3,252,895.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $112,794,868.08. The trade was a 2.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 130,382 shares of company stock valued at $13,189,508 over the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ MMSI traded down $0.73 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $98.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 329,557 shares, compared to its average volume of 516,021. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $96.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $100.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 5.36 and a quick ratio of 3.82. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $80.02 and a 1 year high of $111.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.70.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $355.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $352.57 million. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 15.61%. The firm's revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.77 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 EPS for the current year.

About Merit Medical Systems

Merit Medical Systems, Inc designs, develops, manufactures, and markets single-use medical products for interventional, diagnostic, and therapeutic procedures in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, Cardiovascular and Endoscopy. The company provides micropuncture kits, angiographic needles, sheaths, guide wires, and safety products; peripheral intervention, including angiography, drainage, delivery systems, and embolotherapy products; spine products, such as vertebral augmentation, radiofrequency ablation, and bone biopsy systems; oncology products; and cardiac intervention products, such as access, angiography, electrophysiology and cardiac rhythm management, fluid management, hemodynamic monitoring, hemostasis, and intervention to treat various heart conditions.