Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) Shares Sold by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP decreased its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,183,257 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 52,069 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 2.03% of Merit Medical Systems worth $114,444,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 59,466 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $5,752,000 after acquiring an additional 7,781 shares during the period. Altium Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 17.6% during the 4th quarter. Altium Capital Management LLC now owns 100,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $9,672,000 after purchasing an additional 15,000 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 413.7% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 74,291 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $7,185,000 after purchasing an additional 59,829 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 391.6% in the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 32,429 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $3,137,000 after purchasing an additional 25,833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Walleye Trading LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the fourth quarter valued at about $445,000. 99.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merit Medical Systems

In other Merit Medical Systems news, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 31,320 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.86, for a total value of $3,252,895.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,028 shares in the company, valued at $112,794,868.08. The trade was a 2.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 12,451 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.81, for a total transaction of $1,230,283.31. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 24,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,391,300.81. This represents a 33.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 109,132 shares of company stock worth $11,139,521. Insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on MMSI shares. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $127.00 to $108.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $116.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James lowered their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $116.00 to $108.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a 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 equities 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $107.78.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

MMSI stock traded down $1.27 during trading on Thursday, hitting $93.18. The stock had a trading volume of 373,190 shares, compared to its average volume of 501,761. The stock has a market cap of $5.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a current ratio of 5.36. The company's 50 day moving average price is $97.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $100.52. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $74.07 and a 1-year high of $111.45.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $352.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.