Legato Capital Management LLC Makes New $809,000 Investment in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Legato Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 7,650 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $809,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMSI. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the 4th quarter worth $66,638,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the 4th quarter worth $48,926,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 31.6% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,076,439 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $200,833,000 after purchasing an additional 499,193 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the 4th quarter worth $38,688,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 3,197.9% during the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 342,912 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $33,166,000 after purchasing an additional 332,514 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.66% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merit Medical Systems news, Director Michael R. Mcdonnell sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.51, for a total value of $165,392.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $604,391.45. This represents a 21.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,066,028 shares of the company's stock, valued at $102,914,343.12. This trade represents a 1.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 85,596 shares of company stock valued at $8,171,433. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MMSI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $112.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $108.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (up from $106.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $109.11.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

Shares of MMSI stock traded up $0.47 during trading on Friday, reaching $84.69. The company had a trading volume of 537,957 shares, compared to its average volume of 719,060. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $92.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $97.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 4.87 and a quick ratio of 3.26. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $82.62 and a one year high of $111.45. The company has a market capitalization of $5.01 billion, a PE ratio of 41.51, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.65.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $355.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $352.57 million. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 8.81%. Merit Medical Systems's revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Merit Medical Systems Company 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.