New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 150,587 Shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 89.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,780 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 150,587 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund's holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $1,880,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,648,659 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $643,058,000 after buying an additional 63,314 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 31.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,076,439 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $200,833,000 after buying an additional 499,193 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 2.3% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 8.3% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 5,932 shares in the last quarter. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

NASDAQ MMSI traded up $0.47 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $84.69. The company had a trading volume of 537,957 shares, compared to its average volume of 719,060. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $82.62 and a 52 week high of $111.45. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $92.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a current ratio of 4.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.51, a PEG 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $355.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $352.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.77 EPS. The company's revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Merit Medical Systems

In other Merit Medical Systems news, Director F. Ann Millner sold 21,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.47, for a total value of $2,049,987.50. Following the sale, the director owned 34,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,332,363.21. This trade represents a 38.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Michael R. Mcdonnell sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $604,391.45. This trade represents a 21.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 85,596 shares of company stock worth $8,171,433. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MMSI shares. Barrington Research reduced their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. 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 issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merit Medical Systems currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $109.11.

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.