Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) Shares Acquired by Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 11.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,686 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 3,597 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky owned approximately 0.06% of Merit Medical Systems worth $3,773,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,648,659 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $643,058,000 after purchasing an additional 63,314 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 31.6% during the fourth 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. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,633,246 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $157,968,000 after buying an additional 36,489 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,535,468 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $148,510,000 after buying an additional 118,142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 938,210 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $90,744,000 after buying an additional 5,932 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.66% of the company's stock.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

Shares of Merit Medical Systems stock traded up $0.47 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $84.69. 537,957 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 719,060. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $82.62 and a 1 year high of $111.45. The company has a current ratio of 4.87, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The business has a 50-day moving average of $92.67 and a 200-day moving average of $97.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.65.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Merit Medical Systems

In other Merit Medical Systems news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 15,181 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was 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 owned 24,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,268,843.75. This trade represents a 38.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director F. Ann Millner sold 21,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.47, for a total transaction of $2,049,987.50. Following the sale, the director owned 34,543 shares in the company, valued at $3,332,363.21. The trade was a 38.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 85,596 shares of company stock valued at $8,171,433. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MMSI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Friday, March 28th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on 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 reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $116.00 to $108.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $109.11.

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.