Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires Shares of 505,843 Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 505,843 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $48,926,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.87% of Merit Medical Systems at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the fourth quarter worth $66,638,000. FMR LLC increased its position in Merit Medical Systems by 31.6% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,076,439 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $200,833,000 after buying an additional 499,193 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,688,000. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,057,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 85.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 575,946 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $56,921,000 after acquiring an additional 265,648 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.66% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merit Medical Systems

In related news, Director Stephen C. Evans sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.31, for a total transaction of $526,550.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,657 shares of the company's stock, valued at $490,428.67. This represents a 51.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian G. Lloyd sold 30,000 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the insider now owns 38,945 shares in the company, valued at $4,007,440.50. This represents a 43.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 109,132 shares of company stock valued at $11,139,521. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merit Medical Systems Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:MMSI traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $90.89. 627,778 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 485,738. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $100.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $100.68. The company has a current ratio of 5.36, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $71.57 and a one year high of $111.45.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $111.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Friday, March 28th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $128.00 to $127.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $114.33.

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.