Northern Trust Corp Sells 22,408 Shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. $MMSI

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp reduced its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 3.0%, selling 22,408 shares and now owns 728,528 shares worth approximately $77 million.
• Several analysts have adjusted their price targets for Merit Medical, with Piper Sandler lowering it from $110 to $105 while maintaining an "overweight" rating.
• Merit Medical Systems reported $1.01 earnings per share for the last quarter, beating estimates and reflecting a 13.2% year-over-year revenue growth to $382.46 million.

Northern Trust Corp reduced its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 728,528 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 22,408 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.23% of Merit Medical Systems worth $77,013,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in Merit Medical Systems by 3.8% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,936 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $416,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Westover Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 2.6% in the first quarter. Westover Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,728 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $711,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the period. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 5.9% in the first quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,065 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 15.9% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,529 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $162,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 4,689 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $496,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the period. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

MMSI traded up $0.49 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $90.54. The company had a trading volume of 366,258 shares, compared to its average volume of 478,851. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $88.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.37. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.04 and a 12-month high of $111.45. 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 stock has a market cap of $5.36 billion, a PE ratio of 45.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.66.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.16. The company 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%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Merit Medical Systems

In other news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 15,181 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 24,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,268,843.75. This represents a 38.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 transaction of $265,680.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 12,809 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,134,365.04. The trade was a 18.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,514 shares of company stock worth $2,264,465 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $103.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $112.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Piper Sandler lowered 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. 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $108.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merit Medical Systems currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.