Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Cuts Stock Position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. $MMSI

Key Points

• Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC reduced its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 43.7% in Q2 2023, now owning approximately 37,624 shares valued at $3,536,000.
• Analysts have set varying price targets for Merit Medical, with Raymond James and Wells Fargo reducing their targets to $102.00 and $100.00 respectively, while Canaccord Genuity increased its target to $104.00.
• Merit Medical reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.01 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, along with a revenue growth of 13.2% year-over-year.

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lessened its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 43.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 37,624 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 29,246 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned about 0.06% of Merit Medical Systems worth $3,536,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 2.2% during the second quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 17,369 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,624,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 0.7% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 27,600 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,580,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS raised its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 5.2% during the second quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 12,100 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,131,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 10.4% during the second quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 2,225 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank purchased a new position in Merit Medical Systems in the second quarter worth $182,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.66% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMSI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $108.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $103.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $106.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Lynne N. Ward sold 3,000 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.56, for a total transaction of $265,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 12,809 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,134,365.04. This trade represents a 18.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Merit Medical Systems Trading Up 1.6%

Merit Medical Systems stock opened at $83.21 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.93 billion, a PE ratio of 42.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $85.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.74. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $78.12 and a 52 week high of $111.45. The company has a current ratio of 4.09, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

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

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.

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