Nomura Holdings Inc. Buys 8,405 Shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Nomura Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 321,728 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 8,405 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc. owned approximately 0.55% of Merit Medical Systems worth $31,118,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MMSI. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Merit Medical Systems in the fourth quarter worth about $52,000. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 139.1% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 655 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 381 shares during the period. Group One Trading LLC bought a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 237.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 977 shares in the last quarter. 99.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

Shares of MMSI stock opened at $97.61 on Wednesday. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $80.02 and a 1-year high of $111.45. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $96.79 and its 200 day moving average is $100.54. The company has a market cap of $5.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.85, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 5.36 and a quick ratio of 3.82.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $352.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.77 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on MMSI. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $127.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James decreased their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $116.00 to $108.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Barrington Research decreased their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $103.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Merit Medical Systems in a report on Friday, March 28th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. Two 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merit Medical Systems currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merit Medical Systems

In other Merit Medical Systems news, Director Stephen C. Evans sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.31, for a total value of $526,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $490,428.67. This trade represents a 51.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 31,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.86, for a total value of $3,252,895.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $112,794,868.08. The trade was a 2.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 109,132 shares of company stock worth $11,139,521. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Merit Medical Systems

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.