2,927 Shares in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) Bought by Freestone Grove Partners LP

Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,927 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $283,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 305.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 112,727 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $11,142,000 after acquiring an additional 84,923 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in Merit Medical Systems by 1.0% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 10,398 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,028,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Merit Medical Systems by 43.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 559,395 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $53,433,000 after acquiring an additional 168,174 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 85.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 575,946 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $56,921,000 after purchasing an additional 265,648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,494 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $144,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

NASDAQ MMSI traded up $1.87 during trading on Thursday, hitting $96.09. 1,297,106 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 509,229. The company has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $97.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $100.47. The company has a quick ratio of 3.82, a current ratio of 5.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $79.40 and a 12-month high of $111.45.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.11. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.61% and a net margin of 9.05%. The firm had revenue of $355.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $352.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.77 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $127.00 to $108.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Barrington Research dropped their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $116.00 to $108.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Friday, March 28th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $107.78.

Insider Transactions at Merit Medical Systems

In other Merit Medical Systems news, insider Brian G. Lloyd sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.90, for a total transaction of $3,087,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 38,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,007,440.50. This trade represents a 43.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen C. Evans sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.31, for a total transaction of $526,550.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,657 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $490,428.67. This trade represents a 51.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 109,132 shares of company stock worth $11,139,521. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.