Zions Bancorporation National Association UT Invests $4.99 Million in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Key Points

• Zions Bancorporation acquired 47,185 shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI), worth approximately $4.99 million, establishing a new position in the firm during the 1st quarter of the year.
• Institutional investors own about 99.66% of Merit Medical Systems' stock, indicating strong institutional confidence in the company.
• Research analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Merit Medical, with a price target averaging around $107.00, despite some analysts lowering their price targets recently.

Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 47,185 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $4,988,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT owned about 0.08% of Merit Medical Systems as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMSI. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the 4th quarter worth about $484,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 72,939 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $7,055,000 after acquiring an additional 823 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 370,067 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $35,793,000 after acquiring an additional 22,006 shares during the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the 4th quarter worth about $224,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 63.2% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 26,183 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,532,000 after acquiring an additional 10,135 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.66% of the company's stock.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

Shares of MMSI traded up $1.17 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $85.93. 150,859 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 660,281. The company has a market cap of $5.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.62, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.66. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $89.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.24. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $81.04 and a twelve month high of $111.45. The company has a quick ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MMSI shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target 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. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $103.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merit Medical Systems presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $107.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merit Medical Systems news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 15,181 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.75, for a total transaction of $1,423,218.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 24,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,268,843.75. The trade was a 38.55% 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 Lynne N. Ward sold 2,433 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.89, for a total value of $206,537.37. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 12,809 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,087,356.01. The trade was a 15.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 88,029 shares of company stock valued at $8,377,970 over the last 90 days. 3.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.