Russell Investments Group Ltd. Increases Position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. $MMSI

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 52.8%, buying an additional 13,825 shares during the first quarter, bringing their total ownership to 40,008 shares valued at approximately $4.23 million.
• Insider selling was noted, with Director David Floyd selling 3,515 shares for over $330,000, marking a significant decrease in his position, which has raised concerns about insider sentiment.
• Merit Medical Systems reported a 13.2% year-over-year revenue growth of $382.46 million in its latest quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, with earnings per share of $1.01 versus an expected $0.85.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 52.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 40,008 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 13,825 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.07% of Merit Medical Systems worth $4,229,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,787,289 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $188,934,000 after purchasing an additional 251,821 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 938,210 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $90,744,000 after purchasing an additional 5,932 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Merit Medical Systems in the 1st quarter worth $80,679,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 750,936 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $72,631,000 after purchasing an additional 85,483 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 742,735 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $71,837,000 after purchasing an additional 25,816 shares during the period. 99.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Lynne N. Ward sold 3,000 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.56, for a total value of $265,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 12,809 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,134,365.04. This trade represents a 18.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 15,181 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction dated 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,779 shares of company stock valued at $4,662,863 in the last quarter. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MMSI shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $103.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial decreased their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $108.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $112.00 price target on Merit Medical Systems and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merit Medical Systems presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $107.00.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

Shares of MMSI stock traded up $0.90 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $89.06. The stock had a trading volume of 509,590 shares, compared to its average volume of 650,492. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $81.04 and a one year high of $111.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 4.09 and a quick ratio of 2.66. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $88.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.21, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.66.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $382.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $372.47 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 EPS for the current year.

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.