American Century Companies Inc. Grows Holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 40.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,658 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 6,789 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.'s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $2,288,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Merit Medical Systems in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the fourth quarter valued at about $52,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 237.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $134,000 after acquiring an additional 977 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,494 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $144,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,732 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $171,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.66% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMSI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $116.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Friday, March 28th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $128.00 to $127.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $116.00 target price (up from $114.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $111.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $114.33.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of MMSI traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $92.04. The stock had a trading volume of 749,192 shares, compared to its average volume of 480,543. 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 company's fifty day simple moving average is $101.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $100.86. The company has a market cap of $5.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.12, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.85. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $70.70 and a 1-year high of $111.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merit Medical Systems news, insider Brian G. Lloyd sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.50, for a total transaction of $2,487,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 38,993 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,879,803.50. This trade represents a 39.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 31,320 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was 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 $112,794,868.08. This represents a 2.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 109,132 shares of company stock valued at $11,139,521 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Merit Medical Systems Company 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.