Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Stock Position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 2.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 319,960 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 7,940 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.54% of Merit Medical Systems worth $33,823,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the first quarter worth $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Merit Medical Systems by 1,518.5% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 437 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 139.1% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 655 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the period. Group One Trading LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 15.9% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,529 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $162,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.66% of the company's stock.

Merit Medical Systems Trading Down 0.3%

MMSI traded down $0.31 on Wednesday, reaching $95.03. 26,270 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 537,849. The company has a quick ratio of 3.26, a current ratio of 4.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market cap of $5.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.65. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.45. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $82.62 and a one year high of $111.45.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $355.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $352.57 million. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 8.81% and a return on equity of 15.52%. Merit Medical Systems's revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.77 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MMSI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial cut their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $116.00 to $108.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $110.00 price target (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Barrington Research decreased their price objective on shares of 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. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $109.11.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.47, for a total transaction of $2,049,987.50. Following the sale, the director owned 34,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,332,363.21. This trade represents a 38.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.54, for a total transaction of $1,930,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,066,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,914,343.12. The trade was a 1.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 85,596 shares of company stock valued at $8,171,433. Insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Merit Medical Systems 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.