Teacher Retirement System of Texas Acquires 20,506 Shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 108.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,400 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 20,506 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned approximately 0.07% of Merit Medical Systems worth $3,811,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its position in Merit Medical Systems by 20.1% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 34,950 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $3,454,000 after purchasing an additional 5,844 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in Merit Medical Systems by 216.8% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 10,064 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $995,000 after buying an additional 6,887 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Merit Medical Systems by 67.6% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 14,024 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,386,000 after buying an additional 5,654 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 8.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 727,340 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $71,883,000 after acquiring an additional 54,122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 71.0% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 74,656 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $7,378,000 after purchasing an additional 30,988 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.66% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity

In related news, Director Stephen C. Evans sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.31, for a total transaction of $526,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $490,428.67. This represents a 51.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 31,320 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.86, for a total transaction of $3,252,895.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,028 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $112,794,868.08. This represents a 2.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 109,132 shares of company stock worth $11,139,521 over the last three months. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of MMSI traded down $0.43 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $103.27. The stock had a trading volume of 321,419 shares, compared to its average volume of 424,669. The company has a market capitalization of $6.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $104.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $100.96. The company has a current ratio of 5.36, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $70.70 and a 12 month high of $111.45.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MMSI. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $122.00 to $116.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $116.00 price target (up previously from $114.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barrington Research decreased their price objective on shares of 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. Raymond James increased their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $110.78.

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.