King Luther Capital Management Corp Acquires 5,668 Shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Key Points

• King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 9.3%, acquiring an additional 5,668 shares to hold a total of 66,682 shares worth approximately $7.05 million.
• Merit Medical reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, surpassing analyst estimates of $0.85 and achieving a 13.2% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Brokerages generally maintain a positive outlook on Merit Medical, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $107.00 for the stock.

King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 9.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 66,682 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 5,668 shares during the quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp owned about 0.11% of Merit Medical Systems worth $7,049,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MMSI. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,787,289 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $188,934,000 after purchasing an additional 251,821 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 11.3% in the 1st quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 37,753 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $3,991,000 after purchasing an additional 3,846 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the 1st quarter worth approximately $4,988,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the 1st quarter worth approximately $60,000. Finally, Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 88,301 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $9,334,000 after purchasing an additional 5,684 shares in the last quarter. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Up 0.2%

MMSI stock traded up $0.19 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $85.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 196,515 shares, compared to its average volume of 656,879. The company has a quick ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market capitalization of $5.06 billion, a PE ratio of 43.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.66. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $81.04 and a 12 month high of $111.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $89.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $96.03.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 15,181 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 24,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,268,843.75. The trade was a 38.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lynne N. Ward sold 2,433 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.89, for a total transaction of $206,537.37. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 12,809 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,087,356.01. The trade was a 15.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 66,779 shares of company stock valued at $6,327,983. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MMSI. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $112.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $107.00.

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.