D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Has $28.85 Million Holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lessened its holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 15.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 298,262 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 55,495 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.51% of Merit Medical Systems worth $28,848,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Merit Medical Systems in the fourth quarter valued at $52,000. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 139.1% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 655 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 237.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 977 shares during the period. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in Merit Medical Systems in the fourth quarter valued at $199,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MMSI. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $116.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Barrington Research reduced their price objective 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. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped 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. Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $116.00 to $108.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $106.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merit Medical Systems has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $107.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merit Medical Systems

In other news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 12,451 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.81, for a total value of $1,230,283.31. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 24,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,391,300.81. This represents a 33.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian G. Lloyd sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.50, for a total value of $2,487,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,993 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,879,803.50. This trade represents a 39.07% 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 valued at $11,139,521 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

Shares of MMSI traded down $1.12 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $97.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 400,541 shares, compared to its average volume of 513,287. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $96.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.85, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 5.36 and a quick ratio of 3.82. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $80.02 and a fifty-two week high of $111.45.

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

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.