Bridgewater Associates LP Lowers Stake in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Bridgewater Associates LP cut its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 30.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,635 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 2,952 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP's holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $642,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC raised its position in Merit Medical Systems by 305.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 112,727 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $11,142,000 after acquiring an additional 84,923 shares in the last quarter. EULAV Asset Management increased its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 400.0% during the 4th quarter. EULAV Asset Management now owns 115,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $11,123,000 after purchasing an additional 92,000 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 8,675 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $839,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 85.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 575,946 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $56,921,000 after purchasing an additional 265,648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AMI Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 28.7% in the fourth quarter. AMI Asset Management Corp now owns 33,041 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $3,196,000 after purchasing an additional 7,367 shares in the last quarter. 99.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MMSI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barrington Research dropped their price target 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. Raymond James lowered their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $116.00 to $108.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Friday, March 28th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $116.00 to $112.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.11.

Insider Activity at Merit Medical Systems

In other news, Director Stephen C. Evans sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.31, for a total value of $526,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,657 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $490,428.67. This represents a 51.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 31,320 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.86, for a total value of $3,252,895.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,028 shares in the company, valued at $112,794,868.08. This trade represents a 2.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 109,132 shares of company stock worth $11,139,521. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

Shares of MMSI stock traded down $1.21 during trading on Friday, hitting $93.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 600,986 shares, compared to its average volume of 493,908. The company has a market cap of $5.52 billion, a PE ratio of 45.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.85. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $72.81 and a 52 week high of $111.45. The company has a current ratio of 5.36, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The business has a fifty day moving average of $98.90 and a 200-day moving average of $100.52.

Merit Medical Systems Company Profile

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.