Invesco Ltd. Purchases 251,821 Shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. $MMSI

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 16.4%, owning nearly 1.8 million shares valued at approximately $188.93 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Insider trading activity included the sale of 3,515 shares by Director David Floyd and 15,181 shares by CFO Raul Jr. Parra, both substantially reducing their ownership in the company.
• Merit Medical reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.01 for the quarter, surpassing analyst expectations, with revenue of $382.46 million—up 13.2% from the previous year.

Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 16.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,787,289 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 251,821 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned approximately 3.02% of Merit Medical Systems worth $188,934,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Merit Medical Systems in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 1,435.0% in the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 307 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in Merit Medical Systems in the first quarter valued at about $41,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 1,518.5% in 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. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Merit Medical Systems in the first quarter valued at about $60,000. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MMSI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $108.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $112.00 target price on Merit Medical Systems and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $107.00.

Merit Medical Systems Trading Up 1.3%

MMSI traded up $1.07 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $86.58. 111,944 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 655,788. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a current ratio of 4.09. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $81.04 and a one year high of $111.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.91, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.66. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $89.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.68.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.16. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.31%. The business had revenue of $382.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $372.47 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. Merit Medical Systems's quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merit Medical Systems news, Director Michael R. Mcdonnell sold 1,750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.51, for a total value of $165,392.50. Following the sale, the director owned 6,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $604,391.45. The trade was a 21.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 15,181 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 24,201 shares in the company, valued at $2,268,843.75. The trade was a 38.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 66,779 shares of company stock worth $6,327,983 in the last three months. 3.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.