Fmr LLC Grows Stake in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 31.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,076,439 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 499,193 shares during the quarter. FMR LLC owned about 3.56% of Merit Medical Systems worth $200,833,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on MMSI shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $116.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $128.00 to $127.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $111.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, March 28th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $120.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $114.33.

Insider Activity at Merit Medical Systems

In other Merit Medical Systems news, insider Brian G. Lloyd sold 25,000 shares of Merit Medical Systems 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,879,803.50. The trade was a 39.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 12,451 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.81, for a total transaction of $1,230,283.31. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 24,201 shares in the company, valued at $2,391,300.81. The trade was a 33.97 % 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 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:MMSI traded up $0.32 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $90.89. 627,778 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 485,071. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a current ratio of 5.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.37 billion, a PE ratio of 44.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.85. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $70.70 and a 12-month high of $111.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $100.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $100.66.

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.