Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC Invests $7.41 Million in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in 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 SEC. The firm bought 70,069 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $7,407,000. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC owned about 0.12% of Merit Medical Systems as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 600,686 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $58,098,000 after purchasing an additional 10,710 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,342 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 312,020 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $30,179,000 after purchasing an additional 11,756 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 12,454 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,205,000 after purchasing an additional 1,744 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 168,367 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $16,284,000 after purchasing an additional 972 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on MMSI. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $112.00 price target on Merit Medical Systems and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $116.00 to $108.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $110.00 price target (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Barrington Research reduced their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merit Medical Systems presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $109.11.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MMSI traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $92.95. 336,019 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 532,457. The company has a quick ratio of 3.26, a current ratio of 4.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $80.84 and a 12 month high of $111.45. The company's 50 day moving average price is $94.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $99.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.49 billion, a PE ratio of 45.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.66.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $355.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $352.57 million. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 8.81%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.77 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Merit Medical Systems

In other news, Director F. Ann Millner sold 21,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.47, for a total transaction of $2,049,987.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 34,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,332,363.21. This represents a 38.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 15,181 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.75, for a total value of $1,423,218.75. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 85,596 shares of company stock worth $8,171,433 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Merit Medical Systems

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.