Teacher Retirement System of Texas Trims Holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas trimmed its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 52.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,775 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 20,625 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $1,985,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Group One Trading LLC bought a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the fourth quarter worth about $77,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 15.9% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,529 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $162,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.66% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MMSI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, March 28th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $108.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $116.00 to $108.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $112.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $109.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merit Medical Systems

In related news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 15,181 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.75, for a total transaction of $1,423,218.75. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 24,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,268,843.75. This trade represents a 38.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director F. Ann Millner sold 21,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.47, for a total transaction of $2,049,987.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 34,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,332,363.21. This trade represents a 38.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 85,596 shares of company stock valued at $8,171,433 over the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

MMSI stock traded down $1.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $93.49. The company had a trading volume of 448,468 shares, compared to its average volume of 538,384. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $94.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.42. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $82.62 and a 12 month high of $111.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a current ratio of 4.87. The firm has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a PE ratio of 45.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.65.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $355.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $352.57 million. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 8.81% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.77 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.