Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 5.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 300,264 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 17,376 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.52% of Merit Medical Systems worth $29,675,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new position in Merit Medical Systems in the 1st quarter valued at $44,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Merit Medical Systems in the 1st quarter valued at $50,000. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in Merit Medical Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its position in Merit Medical Systems by 2,666.7% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 913 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.66% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Merit Medical Systems

In related news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 29,646 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.02, for a total value of $2,905,900.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,361 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,603,705.22. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

Shares of Merit Medical Systems stock traded down $0.89 on Wednesday, hitting $103.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 61,390 shares, compared to its average volume of 440,468. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.46 and a 52-week high of $105.46. The company has a quick ratio of 3.82, a current ratio of 5.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $97.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $89.53. The company has a market capitalization of $6.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.89.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $339.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $334.60 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MMSI. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Merit Medical Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, November 3rd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $92.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $109.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $85.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $103.36.

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.