Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Lowers Stock Holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P cut its holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,065,265 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 31,891 shares during the quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P owned about 1.83% of Merit Medical Systems worth $103,033,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MMSI. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in Merit Medical Systems in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the fourth quarter worth $52,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Merit Medical Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at $120,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 237.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 977 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,494 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $144,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. 99.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James boosted their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. 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 report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barrington Research decreased their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $115.00 to $111.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $122.00 to $116.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $128.00 to $127.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Two equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Merit Medical Systems has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $111.70.

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Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

Shares of MMSI stock traded up $0.53 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $104.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 139,811 shares, compared to its average volume of 590,102. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $104.30 and a 200-day moving average of $101.06. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $70.70 and a twelve month high of $111.45. The stock has a market cap of $6.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merit Medical Systems

In related news, insider Brian G. Lloyd sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.50, for a total transaction of $2,487,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 38,993 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,879,803.50. This trade represents a 39.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen C. Evans sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.31, for a total transaction of $526,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,657 shares of the company's stock, valued at $490,428.67. The trade was a 51.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 109,132 shares of company stock worth $11,139,521. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.