JPMorgan Chase & Co. Trims Stock Position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 21.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 454,040 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 121,906 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.78% of Merit Medical Systems worth $43,915,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 28,200 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,728,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in Merit Medical Systems by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,347 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 1.0% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 10,398 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,028,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in Merit Medical Systems by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,869 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,632,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,440 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $735,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. 99.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Merit Medical Systems Stock Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ:MMSI traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $92.04. The company had a trading volume of 749,192 shares, compared to its average volume of 480,543. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $70.70 and a 12-month high of $111.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.12, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.85. 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's fifty day simple moving average is $101.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merit Medical Systems

In other Merit Medical Systems news, Director Stephen C. Evans sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.31, for a total value of $526,550.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,657 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $490,428.67. This represents a 51.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 31,320 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.86, for a total transaction of $3,252,895.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,028 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $112,794,868.08. This trade represents a 2.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $116.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Wednesday. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $111.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $116.00 price objective (up from $114.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Friday, March 28th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $111.70.

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.