State Street Corp Boosts Holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

State Street Corp grew its holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 0.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,231,701 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 15,098 shares during the quarter. State Street Corp owned about 3.83% of Merit Medical Systems worth $220,559,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 20.7% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 28,050 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,772,000 after purchasing an additional 4,806 shares during the last quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 38.1% in the third quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,826 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 1,331 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd grew its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 1,236.4% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 84,658 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $8,367,000 after acquiring an additional 78,323 shares during the period. Iron Triangle Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,004,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 58.5% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 55,443 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $5,478,000 after purchasing an additional 20,454 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.66% of the company's stock.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

Merit Medical Systems stock traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $105.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 142,385 shares, compared to its average volume of 434,116. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $100.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $92.96. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.30 and a 1-year high of $108.07. The company has a market cap of $6.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.57, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 5.36 and a quick ratio of 3.82.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $339.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $334.60 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.75 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Merit Medical Systems from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $103.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $109.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Merit Medical Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, November 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (up from $100.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $105.09.

Insider Activity at Merit Medical Systems

In related news, Director F. Ann Millner sold 12,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.55, for a total transaction of $1,269,375.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 32,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,289,306.05. The trade was a 27.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 29,646 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 16,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,603,705.22. This represents a 64.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.