Peak Retirement Planning Inc. Purchases Shares of 9,051 Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Peak Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 9,051 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $875,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MMSI. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 305.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 112,727 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $11,142,000 after acquiring an additional 84,923 shares during the last quarter. EULAV Asset Management boosted its position in Merit Medical Systems by 400.0% in the 4th quarter. EULAV Asset Management now owns 115,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $11,123,000 after buying an additional 92,000 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 8,675 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $839,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 332.7% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,682 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $452,000 after purchasing an additional 3,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,926,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.66% of the company's stock.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MMSI traded down $0.13 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $94.31. The company had a trading volume of 81,985 shares, compared to its average volume of 520,453. The company has a current ratio of 5.36, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $80.02 and a 1-year high of $111.45. The stock has a market cap of $5.57 billion, a PE ratio of 46.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $96.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $100.36.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.11. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 15.61%. The business had revenue of $355.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $352.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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 subject of a number of research analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $112.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $116.00 to $108.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Friday, March 28th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $120.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barrington Research decreased their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $109.11.

Insider Activity at Merit Medical Systems

In other news, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 31,320 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.86, for a total transaction of $3,252,895.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,028 shares in the company, valued at $112,794,868.08. The trade was a 2.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Stephen C. Evans sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.31, for a total transaction of $526,550.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $490,428.67. The trade was a 51.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 130,382 shares of company stock valued at $13,189,508. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

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.