Teacher Retirement System of Texas Cuts Holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lessened its holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 35.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,997 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 13,342 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $1,823,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,370 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,130,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 0.9% during the third quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 28,869 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,993,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC lifted its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 3,704 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its position in Merit Medical Systems by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 10,150 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $701,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Group LLC boosted its position in Merit Medical Systems by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Renaissance Group LLC now owns 24,406 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,685,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.66% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MMSI. Raymond James boosted their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. CL King initiated coverage on Merit Medical Systems in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Barrington Research upped their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $112.00 to $102.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merit Medical Systems has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $92.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merit Medical Systems

In other Merit Medical Systems news, Director Thomas James Gunderson sold 18,157 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.03, for a total value of $1,380,476.71. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 19,257 shares in the company, valued at $1,464,109.71. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Joseph Wright sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total value of $1,892,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,223 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,195,436.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas James Gunderson sold 18,157 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.03, for a total value of $1,380,476.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,257 shares in the company, valued at $1,464,109.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 49,637 shares of company stock worth $3,751,673. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ MMSI traded down $0.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $81.89. 287,535 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 388,571. The company has a quick ratio of 4.38, a current ratio of 6.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.91. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.58 and a 1 year high of $85.62. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $75.01 and a 200 day moving average of $75.18.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.06. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.02% and a net margin of 7.94%. The company had revenue of $323.51 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $315.57 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.33 earnings per share 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.