William Blair Investment Management LLC Boosts Stake in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. $MMSI

William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 22.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 739,600 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 137,956 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $69,138,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Maseco LLP purchased a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 1,435.0% during the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 307 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 55.6% during the 2nd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 375 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 119.8% during the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 367 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the 1st quarter worth $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.66% of the company’s stock.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ MMSI opened at $81.86 on Friday. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $78.12 and a 12-month high of $111.45. The company has a market cap of $4.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 4.09, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $85.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.91.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.16. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.31%.The firm had revenue of $382.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $372.47 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $108.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Friday, July 18th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merit Medical Systems

In other news, Director Lynne N. Ward sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.56, for a total transaction of $265,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 12,809 shares in the company, valued at $1,134,365.04. This trade represents a 18.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Merit Medical Systems 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.