Barclays PLC Has $11.14 Million Stock Position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 305.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 112,727 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 84,923 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned 0.19% of Merit Medical Systems worth $11,142,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MMSI. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 125.3% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 9,479 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $815,000 after acquiring an additional 5,271 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the 2nd quarter valued at about $337,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 19.7% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,426 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 129,024 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $11,090,000 after purchasing an additional 3,933 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its position in Merit Medical Systems by 2.1% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 29,200 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,510,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.66% of the company's stock.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

MMSI traded down $3.31 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $99.00. 681,603 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 435,436. The company has a quick ratio of 3.82, a current ratio of 5.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.84. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $70.31 and a one year high of $108.07.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $339.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $334.60 million. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.61% and a net margin of 9.05%. Merit Medical Systems's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MMSI shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $92.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Merit Medical Systems from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $103.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $109.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $110.00 price target (up from $100.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $105.09.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 29,646 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.02, for a total value of $2,905,900.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,361 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,603,705.22. This represents a 64.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director F. Ann Millner sold 12,500 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.55, for a total transaction of $1,269,375.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 32,391 shares in the company, valued at $3,289,306.05. The trade was a 27.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.