Merit Medical Systems, Inc. $MMSI Shares Purchased by William Blair Investment Management LLC

William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 22.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 739,600 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 137,956 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned 1.25% of Merit Medical Systems worth $69,138,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Merit Medical Systems by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,787,289 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $188,934,000 after acquiring an additional 251,821 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Merit Medical Systems by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,766,711 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $186,759,000 after purchasing an additional 133,465 shares during the period. Maverick Capital Ltd. acquired a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the 1st quarter worth approximately $134,517,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the 1st quarter worth approximately $80,679,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Merit Medical Systems by 16.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 719,313 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $76,039,000 after purchasing an additional 103,878 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Merit Medical Systems

In related news, Director Lynne N. Ward sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.56, for a total value of $265,680.00. Following the sale, the director owned 12,809 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,134,365.04. This represents a 18.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

MMSI opened at $81.86 on Friday. The stock 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 4.09 and a quick ratio of 2.66. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $85.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.91. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $78.12 and a 1-year high of $111.45.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $108.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $103.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Friday, July 18th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.50.

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.