Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. Grows Stake in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. grew its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 45.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,192 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,513 shares during the period. Merit Medical Systems makes up approximately 0.8% of Virtus Investment Advisers Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $1,082,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Transactions at Merit Medical Systems

In related news, insider Brian G. Lloyd sold 25,000 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 38,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,879,803.50. This trade represents a 39.07% 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 this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 5,361 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.58, for a total value of $555,292.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 24,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,506,739.58. This represents a 18.13% 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 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $116.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $116.00 to $108.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $106.00 target price on Merit Medical Systems and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Two 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merit Medical Systems has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $108.67.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Up 1.3%

NASDAQ:MMSI opened at $98.83 on Monday. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $96.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $100.60. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $80.02 and a 1-year high of $111.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.45, a PEG 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $355.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $352.57 million. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 15.61%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.77 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 EPS for the current year.

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.