Strs Ohio Makes New $1.58 Million Investment in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. $MMSI

Key Points

• Strs Ohio acquired 14,900 shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) in Q1, totaling approximately $1.58 million.
• Multiple hedge funds made significant investments in MMSI in the first quarter, with Maverick Capital Ltd. leading at $134.5 million.
• Merit Medical Systems reported earnings per share of $1.01 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations and showing a 13.2% increase in revenue year-over-year.

Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 14,900 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $1,575,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MMSI. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 1,435.0% in the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 307 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 119.8% in the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 367 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the 1st quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 1,518.5% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 437 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on MMSI. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $108.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $112.00 price objective on Merit Medical Systems and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $107.50.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of Merit Medical Systems stock traded up $1.40 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $84.10. 720,555 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 647,975. The company has a market cap of $4.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.64. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $87.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a current ratio of 4.09. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $81.04 and a 52 week high of $111.45.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $382.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $372.47 million. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.31%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Merit Medical Systems

In other Merit Medical Systems news, Director Lynne N. Ward sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.56, for a total transaction of $265,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 12,809 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,134,365.04. This represents a 18.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merit Medical Systems 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.