Ethic Inc. Invests $362,000 in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Ethic Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 3,738 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $362,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 139.1% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 655 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 237.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 977 shares during the period. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in Merit Medical Systems in the 4th quarter valued at about $199,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.66% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Merit Medical Systems

In other Merit Medical Systems news, insider Brian G. Lloyd sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.50, for a total transaction of $2,487,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,993 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,879,803.50. This represents a 39.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director F. Ann Millner sold 21,250 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.47, for a total transaction of $2,049,987.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 34,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,332,363.21. The trade was a 38.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 130,382 shares of company stock valued at $13,189,508 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Merit Medical Systems Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of MMSI stock traded up $0.71 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $98.81. 926,676 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 517,657. The stock has a market cap of $5.84 billion, a PE ratio of 48.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.70. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $80.02 and a 12 month high of $111.45. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $96.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.60. The company has a quick ratio of 3.82, a current ratio of 5.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 15.61%. The company had revenue of $355.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $352.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.77 EPS. Merit Medical Systems's revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on MMSI shares. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $106.00 target price on Merit Medical Systems and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $127.00 to $108.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Merit Medical Systems in a report on Friday, March 28th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered 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 note on Friday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merit Medical Systems has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $108.67.

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.