Legal & General Group Plc Sells 28,105 Shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. $MMSI

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 15.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 151,179 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 28,105 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $13,325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,913,050,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,218,432 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $207,379,000 after buying an additional 24,569 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 377.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,240,509 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $103,248,000 after buying an additional 980,823 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,177,862 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $98,021,000 after buying an additional 68,711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 917,122 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $76,332,000 after buying an additional 64,920 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Merit Medical Systems

In other Merit Medical Systems news, insider Brian G. Lloyd purchased 2,000 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $62.62 per share, with a total value of $125,240.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $125,240. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Lynne N. Ward sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.61, for a total transaction of $313,050.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 7,809 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $488,921.49. The trade was a 39.04% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $101.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird set a $83.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Merit Medical Systems from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Compass Point set a $107.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Barrington Research dropped their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merit Medical Systems has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.80.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MMSI opened at $60.89 on Wednesday. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $59.74 and a fifty-two week high of $96.74. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 3.46 and a current ratio of 5.08. The firm has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.54.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.10. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 13.54% and a net margin of 9.03%.The business had revenue of $381.88 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $377.59 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. Merit Medical Systems’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Merit Medical Systems has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.010-4.150 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.62 earnings per share for the current year.

About Merit Medical Systems

Merit Medical Systems, Inc is a global manufacturer and marketer of a broad range of medical devices used in diagnostic and interventional procedures. The company’s product portfolio encompasses vascular access, drainage, embolotherapy, and interventional oncology devices, as well as radiofrequency ablation systems and hemostasis solutions. These products serve physicians and hospitals in critical care settings and support minimally invasive treatment options across multiple specialties, including cardiology, radiology, oncology, neurology and endoscopy.

Founded in 1987 by Fred Lampropoulos, Merit Medical Systems has grown through both organic development and targeted acquisitions to expand its technology offerings and geographic reach.