Townsquare Capital LLC Buys 3,846 Shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Key Points

• Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 11.3%, now holding 37,753 shares worth approximately $3.99 million.
• Institutional and hedge fund ownership is high, accounting for 99.66% of Merit Medical Systems' stock, with multiple firms significantly increasing their positions in the first quarter.
• Merit Medical Systems reported strong earnings with an EPS of $1.01, exceeding analysts' expectations and reflecting a revenue increase of 13.2% from the previous year.

Townsquare Capital LLC raised its stake in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 11.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 37,753 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 3,846 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC owned about 0.06% of Merit Medical Systems worth $3,991,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MMSI. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 3.8% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,936 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Westover Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 2.6% during the first quarter. Westover Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,728 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $711,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Merit Medical Systems by 5.9% in the first quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,065 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Merit Medical Systems by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 5,987 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $579,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Merit Medical Systems by 15.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.66% of the company's stock.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MMSI traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $85.24. 164,112 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 656,674. The company's 50-day moving average price is $89.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.03. 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 has a market capitalization of $5.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.25, a PEG ratio of 2.82 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.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $382.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $372.47 million. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.31%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.92 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 15,181 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.54, for a total value of $1,930,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,066,028 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $102,914,343.12. The trade was a 1.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 66,779 shares of company stock worth $6,327,983 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MMSI shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $108.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $112.00 price target on Merit Medical Systems and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merit Medical Systems presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $107.00.

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.