California Public Employees Retirement System Increases Stock Position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 11.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 146,393 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 15,026 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.25% of Merit Medical Systems worth $14,159,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MMSI. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 305.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 112,727 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $11,142,000 after acquiring an additional 84,923 shares in the last quarter. EULAV Asset Management raised its position in Merit Medical Systems by 400.0% during the 4th quarter. EULAV Asset Management now owns 115,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $11,123,000 after purchasing an additional 92,000 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Merit Medical Systems by 85.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 575,946 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $56,921,000 after purchasing an additional 265,648 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in Merit Medical Systems by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 8,675 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $839,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AMI Asset Management Corp raised its position in Merit Medical Systems by 28.7% during the 4th quarter. AMI Asset Management Corp now owns 33,041 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $3,196,000 after purchasing an additional 7,367 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.66% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMSI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, March 28th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $128.00 to $127.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Barrington Research decreased their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $115.00 to $111.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $111.70.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

MMSI traded down $5.58 during trading on Thursday, reaching $90.21. The stock had a trading volume of 174,533 shares, compared to its average volume of 475,165. The stock has a market cap of $5.33 billion, a PE ratio of 44.38, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a current ratio of 5.36. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $70.70 and a one year high of $111.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $102.56 and a 200-day moving average of $100.96.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 31,320 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.86, for a total value of $3,252,895.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,028 shares in the company, valued at $112,794,868.08. The trade was a 2.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Brian G. Lloyd sold 30,000 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.90, for a total transaction of $3,087,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,007,440.50. This trade represents a 43.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 109,132 shares of company stock valued at $11,139,521 over the last ninety days. 3.70% of the stock is owned by 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.