Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 12.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 687,501 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 73,866 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned about 1.16% of Merit Medical Systems worth $72,676,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 3.8% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,936 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $416,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. bought a new position in Merit Medical Systems in the first quarter worth about $66,000. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 3.3% in the first quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 74,807 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $7,908,000 after buying an additional 2,372 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in Merit Medical Systems in the first quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Vestcor Inc raised its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 119.6% in the first quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 19,290 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,039,000 after buying an additional 10,507 shares in the last quarter. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMSI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $103.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note 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 note on Friday, July 18th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Raymond James Financial decreased their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $108.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $107.00.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of MMSI stock opened at $84.49 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.89, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.66. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $81.04 and a one year high of $111.45. The company's fifty day moving average price is $91.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 4.09 and a quick ratio of 2.66.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 for 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merit Medical Systems news, Director F. Ann Millner sold 21,250 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.47, for a total value of $2,049,987.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 34,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,332,363.21. This trade represents a 38.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director David Floyd sold 3,515 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.16, for a total transaction of $330,972.40. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,880 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $459,500.80. This represents a 41.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 85,596 shares of company stock worth $8,171,433 in the last 90 days. 3.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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