Bridgewater Associates LP Cuts Stake in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Bridgewater Associates LP lowered its holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 80.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,587 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 38,678 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP's holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $947,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,216 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its position in Merit Medical Systems by 4.9% in the second quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,621 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 2.7% in the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 8,122 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $803,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,991 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 19.7% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,426 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MMSI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $85.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $109.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Merit Medical Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, November 3rd. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $110.00 price target (up from $100.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $103.36.

Insider Activity at Merit Medical Systems

In related news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 29,646 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.02, for a total value of $2,905,900.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,603,705.22. The trade was a 64.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director F. Ann Millner sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.55, for a total value of $1,269,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 32,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,289,306.05. This represents 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 insiders.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

Shares of Merit Medical Systems stock traded up $0.93 during trading on Monday, hitting $104.83. The stock had a trading volume of 310,333 shares, compared to its average volume of 436,534. The company has a current ratio of 5.36, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.46 and a 12 month high of $106.87. The firm has a market cap of $6.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.89. The business's 50-day moving average is $99.06 and its 200 day moving average is $91.78.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current year.

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.