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 bought a new stake in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 47,185 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $4,988,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT owned approximately 0.08% of Merit Medical Systems as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MMSI. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,926,000. FMR LLC increased its position in Merit Medical Systems by 31.6% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,076,439 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $200,833,000 after purchasing an additional 499,193 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in Merit Medical Systems by 3,197.9% during the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 342,912 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $33,166,000 after purchasing an additional 332,514 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the fourth quarter worth approximately $21,824,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Merit Medical Systems by 13,761.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 207,086 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $21,891,000 after purchasing an additional 205,592 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MMSI. Raymond James Financial decreased their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $108.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $112.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $103.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $108.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of 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. 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 stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $107.00.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of MMSI traded down $1.54 on Monday, hitting $84.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 445,662 shares, compared to its average volume of 824,174. The company has a quick ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $90.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.32. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $81.04 and a fifty-two week high of $111.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.66.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.61, for a total value of $38,244.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,045,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,972,493.08. This represents a 0.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director F. Ann Millner sold 21,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.47, for a total value of $2,049,987.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 34,543 shares in the company, 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 have sold a total of 85,596 shares of company stock worth $8,171,433 in the last quarter. 3.70% of the stock is owned by company 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.