3,738 Shares in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) Acquired by Ethic Inc.

Ethic Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,738 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $362,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Merit Medical Systems in the fourth quarter worth $66,638,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Merit Medical Systems in the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,926,000. FMR LLC increased its position in Merit Medical Systems by 31.6% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,076,439 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $200,833,000 after acquiring an additional 499,193 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,688,000. Finally, Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Merit Medical Systems in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,057,000. 99.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

NASDAQ MMSI opened at $98.83 on Friday. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $80.02 and a 1-year high of $111.45. 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 simple moving average is $96.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.55. The company has a market cap of $5.84 billion, a PE ratio of 48.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.70.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last released 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 firm 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.77 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Brian G. Lloyd sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.90, for a total value of $3,087,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,007,440.50. This represents a 43.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $112,794,868.08. The trade was a 2.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 109,132 shares of company stock worth $11,139,521 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMSI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $127.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. 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 objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Piper Sandler dropped 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 note 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 report on Friday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $108.67.

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.