Vanguard Group Inc. Has $694.69 Million Holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 1.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,571,658 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 77,001 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 11.12% of Merit Medical Systems worth $694,690,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Merit Medical Systems by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,633,246 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $157,968,000 after purchasing an additional 36,489 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 938,210 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $90,744,000 after purchasing an additional 5,932 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake 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 worth $72,631,000 after acquiring an additional 85,483 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its stake 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 worth $71,837,000 after acquiring an additional 25,816 shares during the period. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its stake 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 worth $72,676,000 after acquiring an additional 73,866 shares during the period. 99.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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 shares were sold at an average price of $93.75, for a total value of $1,423,218.75. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 24,201 shares in the company, valued at $2,268,843.75. This trade represents a 38.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David Floyd sold 3,515 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.16, for a total transaction of $330,972.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,880 shares in the company, valued at $459,500.80. This represents a 41.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 66,779 shares of company stock worth $6,327,983. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of Merit Medical Systems stock traded down $0.93 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $85.22. 285,786 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 684,894. The company has a market cap of $5.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.66. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $89.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.03. 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 52 week low of $81.04 and a 52 week high of $111.45.

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

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.