Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) Shares Sold by SageView Advisory Group LLC

SageView Advisory Group LLC cut its stake in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 26.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,262 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,200 shares during the period. SageView Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $258,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MMSI. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Merit Medical Systems in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,165,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 818.6% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 278,452 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $21,151,000 after purchasing an additional 248,140 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank acquired a new stake in Merit Medical Systems in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $14,022,000. Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Merit Medical Systems in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $8,782,000. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 26.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 607,881 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $41,956,000 after purchasing an additional 125,605 shares in the last quarter. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Neil Peterson sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.85, for a total value of $613,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 14,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,212,935.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MMSI has been the subject of several research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $112.00 to $102.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Merit Medical Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Barrington Research lifted their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.78.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

NASDAQ:MMSI opened at $81.51 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $79.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 6.03 and a quick ratio of 4.38. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.58 and a 1-year high of $85.18.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $323.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.57 million. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 7.94% and a return on equity of 15.02%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.33 EPS for the current year.

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.