Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) Stake Decreased by Aristotle Capital Boston LLC

Aristotle Capital Boston LLC cut its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 11.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm 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 portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Aristotle Capital Boston LLC owned about 1.13% of Merit Medical Systems worth $63,718,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMSI. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $283,000. Comerica Bank grew its position in Merit Medical Systems by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 211,500 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $20,456,000 after acquiring an additional 8,987 shares during the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in Merit Medical Systems in the fourth quarter worth $199,000. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 33.4% during the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 3,617 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 906 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 750,936 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $72,631,000 after purchasing an additional 85,483 shares during the period. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merit Medical Systems

In other Merit Medical Systems news, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 31,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.86, for a total transaction of $3,252,895.20. Following the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Stephen C. Evans sold 5,000 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.31, for a total transaction of $526,550.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $490,428.67. The trade was a 51.78 % 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.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

Shares of MMSI stock opened at $95.66 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.89, 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. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $97.66 and its 200 day moving average is $100.51. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $76.95 and a 1-year high of $111.45.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 15.61%. The firm had revenue of $355.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $352.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.77 EPS. Merit Medical Systems’s revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MMSI. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $116.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $116.00 to $108.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Barrington Research dropped their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $103.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on 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. Finally, 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.78.

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.