Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust Has $19.95 Million Stock Position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust lowered its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 5.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 188,750 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 10,390 shares during the quarter. Merit Medical Systems comprises 1.4% of Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust's holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust owned 0.32% of Merit Medical Systems worth $19,953,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 32.1% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 78,171 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $7,561,000 after buying an additional 19,001 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 16,336 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,580,000 after purchasing an additional 2,912 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 129,933 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $12,752,000 after purchasing an additional 11,548 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Merit Medical Systems by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 19,846 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,920,000 after acquiring an additional 3,819 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Merit Medical Systems by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 55,844 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $5,401,000 after acquiring an additional 401 shares during the period. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on MMSI shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $108.00 price target (up from $106.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $112.00 price target on Merit Medical Systems and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Barrington Research cut their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, March 28th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $120.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $109.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Floyd sold 3,515 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.16, for a total value of $330,972.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,880 shares of the company's stock, valued at $459,500.80. This trade represents a 41.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Michael R. Mcdonnell sold 1,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.51, for a total value of $165,392.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $604,391.45. This trade represents a 21.49% 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 valued at $8,171,433 over the last quarter. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

MMSI traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $93.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 644,522 shares, compared to its average volume of 539,921. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $82.62 and a fifty-two week high of $111.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a PE ratio of 45.88, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $98.36. The company has a current ratio of 4.87, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

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