Portside Wealth Group LLC Makes New Investment in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Portside Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 3,285 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $318,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MMSI. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merit Medical Systems in the first quarter valued at about $213,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 13,761.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 207,086 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $21,891,000 after buying an additional 205,592 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 1,518.5% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 437 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the fourth quarter worth $21,824,000. Finally, Peak Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in Merit Medical Systems in the fourth quarter valued at $875,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.66% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 20,000 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.54, for a total value of $1,930,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,066,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,914,343.12. This trade represents a 1.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael R. Mcdonnell sold 1,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.30, for a total value of $165,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,145 shares in the company, valued at approximately $768,073.50. This trade represents a 17.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 70,015 shares of company stock worth $6,709,970. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on MMSI shares. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $108.00 price target (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $112.00 target price on Merit Medical Systems and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Raymond James cut their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $116.00 to $108.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $109.11.

Merit Medical Systems Trading Down 0.5%

NASDAQ:MMSI traded down $0.44 on Monday, reaching $94.84. The stock had a trading volume of 367,289 shares, compared to its average volume of 528,753. The company has a market cap of $5.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.66. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $80.02 and a 12-month high of $111.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 5.36 and a quick ratio of 3.82. The firm's fifty day moving average is $94.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.89.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $355.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $352.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.77 EPS. Merit Medical Systems's revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.