Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Invests $895,000 in ICU Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ICUI)

Key Points

• Empirical Financial Services LLC has acquired a new stake in ICU Medical, buying 6,444 shares valued at about $895,000. This acquisition highlights increased interest by institutional investors in the medical instruments supplier.
• ICU Medical reported $1.72 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.23, with revenues reaching $599.49 million, a 6.7% increase compared to last year.
• Analysts show a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $192.67 for ICU Medical shares, despite some recent sell-offs by insiders.

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management purchased a new stake in ICU Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ICUI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 6,444 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $895,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of ICU Medical by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 539,981 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $83,788,000 after purchasing an additional 82,982 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of ICU Medical by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 402,342 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $62,431,000 after purchasing an additional 40,187 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of ICU Medical in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,151,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of ICU Medical by 63.2% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 245,340 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $38,069,000 after purchasing an additional 95,030 shares during the period. Finally, Oberweis Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of ICU Medical by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. Oberweis Asset Management Inc. now owns 156,680 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $24,312,000 after acquiring an additional 26,180 shares during the period. 96.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ICU Medical Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of ICUI stock traded down $1.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $127.40. 242,242 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 180,698. ICU Medical, Inc. has a 12 month low of $117.92 and a 12 month high of $196.26. The company has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.26 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company's 50-day moving average price is $130.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $141.57.

ICU Medical (NASDAQ:ICUI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.49. The business had revenue of $599.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $574.15 million. ICU Medical had a negative net margin of 3.87% and a positive return on equity of 6.75%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.96 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that ICU Medical, Inc. will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ICUI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of ICU Medical from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, May 18th. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of ICU Medical from $209.00 to $191.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Raymond James Financial lowered their price objective on shares of ICU Medical from $197.00 to $187.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of ICU Medical in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $192.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at ICU Medical

In related news, Director Elisha W. Finney sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.92, for a total value of $83,352.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,252 shares in the company, valued at $451,767.84. This trade represents a 15.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David C. Greenberg sold 1,942 shares of ICU Medical stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.66, for a total value of $278,987.72. Following the sale, the director owned 6,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $971,141.60. This trade represents a 22.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,097 shares of company stock valued at $4,860,156. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About ICU Medical

ICU Medical, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and sells medical devices used in infusion therapy, vascular access, and vital care applications worldwide. Its infusion therapy products include needlefree products under the MicroClave, MicroClave Clear, and NanoClave brands; Neutron catheter patency devices; ChemoClave and ChemoLock closed system transfer devices, which are used to limit the escape of hazardous drugs or vapor concentrations, block the transfer of environmental contaminants into the system, and eliminates the risk of needlestick injury; Tego needle free connectors; Deltec GRIPPER non-coring needles for portal access; and ClearGuard, SwabCap, and SwabTip disinfection caps.