Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Makes New Investment in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired 42,703 shares of Merit Medical Systems, valued at approximately $4.5 million, during the first quarter.
• Insider trading activity included Director Michael R. Mcdonnell selling 1,750 shares and Director F. Ann Millner selling 21,250 shares, reflecting significant decreases in their ownership stakes.
• Merit Medical Systems reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.86, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenue increasing by 9.8% year-over-year.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 42,703 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $4,514,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned about 0.07% of Merit Medical Systems at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MMSI. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $203,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 40.2% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 23,658 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,288,000 after purchasing an additional 6,789 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $1,170,000. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 23.9% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 54,592 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $5,555,000 after acquiring an additional 10,526 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,648,659 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $643,058,000 after acquiring an additional 63,314 shares during the period. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Merit Medical Systems

In related news, Director F. Ann Millner sold 21,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.47, for a total value of $2,049,987.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 34,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,332,363.21. This represents a 38.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.54, for a total transaction of $1,930,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,066,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,914,343.12. The trade was a 1.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 85,596 shares of company stock worth $8,171,433 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MMSI shares. Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $108.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $112.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $103.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Thursday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $108.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Friday, July 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $107.89.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Up 3.7%

Shares of Merit Medical Systems stock traded up $3.04 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $86.00. The company had a trading volume of 791,205 shares, compared to its average volume of 666,089. The company's 50-day moving average is $91.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.36. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $81.04 and a twelve month high of $111.45. The company has a market cap of $5.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 4.87 and a quick ratio of 3.26.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.16. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 8.81% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The firm had revenue of $382.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $372.47 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. Merit Medical Systems's revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.