Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Sells 10,906 Shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. $MMSI

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 737,655 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 10,906 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 1.25% of Merit Medical Systems worth $77,978,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Merit Medical Systems by 2.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 36,489 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Merit Medical Systems by 0.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 5,932 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Merit Medical Systems by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 750,936 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $72,631,000 after acquiring an additional 85,483 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its position in Merit Medical Systems by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 742,735 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $71,837,000 after acquiring an additional 25,816 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its position in Merit Medical Systems by 12.0% during the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 687,501 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $72,676,000 after acquiring an additional 73,866 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.66% of the company's stock.

Merit Medical Systems Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ MMSI traded up $0.98 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $86.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 89,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 655,589. The company has a current ratio of 4.09, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The business's 50 day moving average is $89.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.68. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.04 and a 12-month high of $111.45. The firm has a market cap of $5.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.66.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $382.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $372.47 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MMSI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Raymond James Financial cut their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $108.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $108.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $103.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $107.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,066,028 shares of the company's stock, valued at $102,914,343.12. This represents a 1.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Lynne N. Ward sold 2,433 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.89, for a total value of $206,537.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 12,809 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,087,356.01. This trade represents a 15.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 66,779 shares of company stock valued at $6,327,983 over the last 90 days. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.