Merit Medical Systems, Inc. $MMSI Position Trimmed by NFJ Investment Group LLC

Key Points

• NFJ Investment Group LLC reduced its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 13.5%, now owning approximately 0.15% of the company worth $9,479,000.
• Merit Medical Systems reported a 13.2% year-over-year revenue increase, with earnings per share (EPS) of $1.01, exceeding analysts' estimates.
• Research firms have set a consensus price target of $107.00 for Merit Medical Systems, indicating a general outlook of a "Moderate Buy" from analysts.

NFJ Investment Group LLC cut its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 13.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 89,668 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 14,051 shares during the quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC owned approximately 0.15% of Merit Medical Systems worth $9,479,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 31.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,959 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $207,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Merit Medical Systems by 18.8% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,691 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 426 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Merit Medical Systems by 332.7% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,682 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $452,000 after buying an additional 3,600 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Merit Medical Systems by 15.3% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 260,084 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $27,493,000 after buying an additional 34,448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the first quarter valued at approximately $294,000. 99.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:MMSI traded up $0.82 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $92.97. The company had a trading volume of 580,755 shares, compared to its average volume of 461,155. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 4.09 and a quick ratio of 2.66. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $88.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.19, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.64. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $81.04 and a one year high of $111.45.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $382.46 million during 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%. The business's revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.92 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 400 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.61, for a total value of $38,244.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,045,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,972,493.08. The trade was a 0.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 15,181 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.75, for a total transaction of $1,423,218.75. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 24,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,268,843.75. The trade was a 38.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 21,014 shares of company stock worth $1,933,680. Insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MMSI shares. Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $108.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of 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. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $103.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $112.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $107.00.

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.