Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust Has $16.43 Million Stake in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. $MMSI

Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust trimmed its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 6.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 175,732 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 13,018 shares during the period. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $16,427,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 31.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,959 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $207,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 18.8% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,691 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $284,000 after acquiring an additional 426 shares during the period. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 2.2% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 132,780 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $13,804,000 after acquiring an additional 2,847 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 15.3% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 260,084 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $27,493,000 after acquiring an additional 34,448 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 119.8% during the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 367 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of MMSI opened at $81.39 on Thursday. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $78.12 and a 52 week high of $111.45. The firm has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a current ratio of 4.09.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MMSI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Merit Medical Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $106.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.