Merit Medical Systems, Inc. $MMSI Shares Purchased by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. has increased its holdings in Merit Medical Systems, owning 513,865 shares worth approximately $54.3 million after purchasing an additional 8,022 shares in the first quarter.
• Merit Medical Systems reported a quarterly EPS of $1.01, outperforming analysts' expectations of $0.85, and showed a 13.2% revenue increase year-over-year.
• The current market sentiment for Merit Medical Systems is positive, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $107.00 among eight analysts.

Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 1.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 513,865 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 8,022 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.87% of Merit Medical Systems worth $54,321,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMSI. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the first quarter valued at about $80,679,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in Merit Medical Systems by 3,197.9% during the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 342,912 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $33,166,000 after purchasing an additional 332,514 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Merit Medical Systems by 16.4% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,787,289 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $188,934,000 after purchasing an additional 251,821 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the fourth quarter valued at about $21,824,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Merit Medical Systems by 13,761.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 207,086 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $21,891,000 after purchasing an additional 205,592 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MMSI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on 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 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $112.00 target price on Merit Medical Systems and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $107.00.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

MMSI traded up $0.80 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $88.96. 174,147 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 648,379. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $88.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.66. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $81.04 and a 1-year high of $111.45. The company has a current ratio of 4.09, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $382.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Michael R. Mcdonnell sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.51, for a total value of $165,392.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,395 shares in the company, valued at $604,391.45. This represents a 21.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.61, for a total transaction of $38,244.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,045,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at $99,972,493.08. This trade represents a 0.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,779 shares of company stock valued at $4,662,863. 3.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.