Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 28,382 Shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 36.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,422 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 28,382 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.09% of Merit Medical Systems worth $4,877,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 84,923 shares during the period. EULAV Asset Management boosted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 400.0% in the fourth quarter. EULAV Asset Management now owns 115,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $11,123,000 after purchasing an additional 92,000 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 8,675 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $839,000 after buying an additional 1,049 shares in the last quarter. AMI Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 28.7% in the 4th quarter. AMI Asset Management Corp now owns 33,041 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $3,196,000 after buying an additional 7,367 shares during the period. Finally, Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the fourth quarter valued at about $800,000. Institutional investors own 99.66% of the company's stock.

Merit Medical Systems Trading Up 1.3%

MMSI stock traded up $1.26 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $98.83. 723,649 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 515,328. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.70. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $80.02 and a 52-week high of $111.45. The business has a 50 day moving average of $96.74 and a 200-day moving average of $100.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a current ratio of 5.36.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Merit Medical Systems

In other news, insider Brian G. Lloyd sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.50, for a total value of $2,487,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,879,803.50. This represents a 39.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen C. Evans sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.31, for a total value of $526,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $490,428.67. The trade was a 51.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 109,132 shares of company stock worth $11,139,521 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MMSI. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $127.00 to $108.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company set a $106.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price objective 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $108.67.

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.