Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) Stock Holdings Lowered by Aristotle Capital Boston LLC

Aristotle Capital Boston LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 11.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in 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 holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Aristotle Capital Boston LLC’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $63,718,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the 4th quarter valued at about $66,638,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Merit Medical Systems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,926,000. FMR LLC boosted its position in Merit Medical Systems by 31.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,076,439 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $200,833,000 after purchasing an additional 499,193 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,688,000. Finally, Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,057,000. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MMSI. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $127.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $116.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $106.00 price target on Merit Medical Systems and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James cut their price objective on 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, March 28th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $120.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merit Medical Systems currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.78.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Up 2.6 %

NASDAQ MMSI opened at $95.66 on Friday. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $76.95 and a one year high of $111.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a current ratio of 5.36. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $97.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.51. The company has a market cap of $5.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.70.

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

Insider Activity at Merit Medical Systems

In related news, insider Brian G. Lloyd sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.50, for a total value of $2,487,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 38,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,879,803.50. This represents a 39.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Stephen C. Evans sold 5,000 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $490,428.67. This trade represents a 51.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 109,132 shares of company stock valued at $11,139,521. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.