Aristotle Capital Boston LLC Has $63.72 Million Stock Holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Aristotle Capital Boston LLC cut its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 11.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 658,785 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 87,878 shares during the period. Merit Medical Systems makes up 2.4% of Aristotle Capital Boston LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Aristotle Capital Boston LLC owned about 1.13% of Merit Medical Systems worth $63,718,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,648,659 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $643,058,000 after acquiring an additional 63,314 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 31.6% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,076,439 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $200,833,000 after buying an additional 499,193 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,633,246 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $157,968,000 after buying an additional 36,489 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,535,468 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $148,510,000 after buying an additional 118,142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 750,936 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $72,631,000 after acquiring an additional 85,483 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MMSI shares. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $116.00 to $112.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Raymond James cut 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 research report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $106.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, March 28th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barrington Research reduced their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $103.00 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $107.78.

Insider Transactions at Merit Medical Systems

In other news, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 31,320 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.86, for a total value of $3,252,895.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $112,794,868.08. This represents a 2.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian G. Lloyd sold 30,000 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were 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 $4,007,440.50. The trade was a 43.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, 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 Price Performance

Merit Medical Systems stock traded up $2.35 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $96.57. 502,322 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 505,372. The stock has a market cap of $5.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.34, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.70. The stock's fifty day moving average is $97.26 and its 200-day moving average is $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 $78.89 and a 12 month high of $111.45.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $352.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.77 earnings per share. Merit Medical Systems's quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 EPS for the current year.

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.