Handelsbanken Fonder AB Boosts Position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 4.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 227,209 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned 0.38% of Merit Medical Systems worth $24,018,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Merit Medical Systems by 1,518.5% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 437 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the fourth quarter valued at $52,000. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 139.1% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 655 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the period. Finally, Group One Trading LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the fourth quarter valued at $77,000. Institutional investors own 99.66% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.54, for a total value of $1,930,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,066,028 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $102,914,343.12. This represents a 1.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director F. Ann Millner sold 21,250 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 34,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,332,363.21. This trade represents a 38.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 70,415 shares of company stock worth $6,748,214. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barrington Research lowered their target price on shares of 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. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $110.00 target price (up from $106.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Friday, March 28th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $108.00 price objective (up from $106.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merit Medical Systems has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $109.11.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Down 0.6%

Merit Medical Systems stock traded down $0.60 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $92.97. The stock had a trading volume of 619,354 shares, compared to its average volume of 532,431. The company has a market cap of $5.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.57, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 5.36 and a quick ratio of 3.82. The business's 50 day moving average price is $94.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.59. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $80.02 and a 52 week high of $111.45.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 15.61%. The firm had revenue of $355.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $352.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 EPS for the current 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.