Nomura Holdings Inc. Sells 18,553 Shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. $MMSI

Key Points

• Nomura Holdings Inc. reduced its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 5.8% in the first quarter, now owning 303,175 shares worth approximately $32 million.
• Numerous institutional investors, including Nuveen LLC and Ameriprise Financial Inc., have also significantly altered their positions in Merit Medical during the first quarter, contributing to institutional ownership reaching 99.66%.
• Merit Medical Systems reported earnings of $1.01 per share, exceeding expectations with revenues of $382.46 million, a year-over-year increase of 13.2%.

Nomura Holdings Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 5.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 303,175 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 18,553 shares during the quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. owned about 0.51% of Merit Medical Systems worth $32,049,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MMSI. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 31.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,959 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $207,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 18.8% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,691 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 426 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 332.7% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,682 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 3,600 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 15.3% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 260,084 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $27,493,000 after purchasing an additional 34,448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the 1st quarter valued at $294,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.66% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Merit Medical Systems

In other news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 15,181 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.75, for a total value of $1,423,218.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 24,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,268,843.75. This represents a 38.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Lynne N. Ward sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.56, for a total value of $265,680.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 12,809 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,134,365.04. This trade represents a 18.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,014 shares of company stock worth $1,933,680 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Merit Medical Systems Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:MMSI traded up $0.35 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $92.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 244,003 shares, compared to its average volume of 644,217. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.04, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a current ratio of 4.09. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $88.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.99. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $81.04 and a fifty-two week high of $111.45.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMSI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $112.00 price objective on Merit Medical Systems and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Friday, July 18th. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $103.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $107.00.

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.