Intech Investment Management LLC Grows Holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 67.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,024 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 5,654 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC's holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $1,386,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,216 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $362,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,621 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,991 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew 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 buying an additional 235 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 32.7% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,056 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. 99.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MMSI has been the topic of a number of recent 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 report on Monday, September 16th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America raised their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $92.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $109.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Merit Medical Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, November 3rd. Three investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $103.36.

Insider Activity

In other Merit Medical Systems news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 29,646 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.02, for a total transaction of $2,905,900.92. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,361 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,603,705.22. This trade represents a 64.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director F. Ann Millner sold 12,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.55, for a total transaction of $1,269,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 32,391 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,289,306.05. This trade represents a 27.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Merit Medical Systems Trading Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ:MMSI opened at $104.00 on Wednesday. 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 $6.06 billion, a PE ratio of 50.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 5.36, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $98.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.33.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last released 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. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 15.61%. The firm had revenue of $339.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $334.60 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.75 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.