Northern Trust Corp Raises Position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 12.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 750,936 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 85,483 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.29% of Merit Medical Systems worth $72,631,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MMSI. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 499,193 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,633,246 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $157,968,000 after purchasing an additional 36,489 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 8.3% in the fourth 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, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 748,561 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $72,401,000 after buying an additional 21,221 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.66% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MMSI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Friday, March 28th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $116.00 to $112.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on 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 cut their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased 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 research note on Friday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merit Medical Systems currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $107.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Brian G. Lloyd sold 30,000 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.90, for a total value of $3,087,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,945 shares in the company, valued at $4,007,440.50. The trade was a 43.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 12,451 shares of the firm'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 in the company, valued at $2,391,300.81. This trade represents a 33.97 % decrease in their position. 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. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

NASDAQ MMSI traded down $0.26 on Friday, reaching $95.83. The company had a trading volume of 694,483 shares, compared to its average volume of 509,967. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $97.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.47. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $79.40 and a 12 month high of $111.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.66 billion, a PE ratio of 46.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.70. 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 (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $355.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $352.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.77 EPS. The business's revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current 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.