HighTower Advisors LLC Purchases 20,454 Shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 58.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,443 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 20,454 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Merit Medical Systems worth $5,478,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 70.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,577,246 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $155,879,000 after purchasing an additional 649,799 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 147.2% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 634,613 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $54,545,000 after buying an additional 377,851 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merit Medical Systems in the third quarter valued at about $21,156,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in Merit Medical Systems by 1,343.5% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 192,109 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $18,986,000 after acquiring an additional 178,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, F M Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the second quarter worth $12,550,000. 99.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merit Medical Systems

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

Merit Medical Systems Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of MMSI stock traded up $1.73 on Wednesday, reaching $105.52. 613,120 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 435,378. 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 has a 50-day moving average of $100.05 and a 200-day moving average of $92.96. The company has a market cap of $6.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.73, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.84. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $67.81 and a one year high of $108.07.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $339.85 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.75 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MMSI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised Merit Medical Systems from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $103.00 to $120.00 in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America boosted their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $92.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $110.00 target price (up previously from $100.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Monday, September 9th. Two investment 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 MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $105.09.

Merit Medical Systems 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.