Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) Stock Position Boosted by Stifel Financial Corp

Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,702 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 2,652 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp owned 0.05% of Merit Medical Systems worth $2,970,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 305.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 112,727 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $11,142,000 after buying an additional 84,923 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 1.0% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 10,398 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,028,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 43.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 559,395 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $53,433,000 after purchasing an additional 168,174 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 85.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 575,946 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $56,921,000 after purchasing an additional 265,648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,494 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merit Medical Systems

In related news, Director Stephen C. Evans sold 5,000 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.31, for a total value of $526,550.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,657 shares in the company, valued at $490,428.67. This trade represents a 51.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian G. Lloyd sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.50, for a total transaction of $2,487,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 38,993 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,879,803.50. This trade represents a 39.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 109,132 shares of company stock worth $11,139,521 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

Merit Medical Systems stock traded down $1.08 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $92.87. 646,975 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 503,830. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 5.36 and a quick ratio of 3.82. The company has a market capitalization of $5.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.52, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.70. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $78.89 and a 12-month high of $111.45. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $97.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $100.56.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.11. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.61% and a net margin of 9.05%. The company had revenue of $355.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $352.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler cut their price target 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. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $116.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Barrington Research decreased their price target on shares of 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. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $127.00 to $108.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $106.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $107.78.

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.