Benjamin Edwards Inc. Acquires 1,827 Shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 50.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,450 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,827 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $539,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MMSI. OLD National Bancorp IN acquired a new stake in Merit Medical Systems in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $245,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 125.3% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 9,479 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $815,000 after purchasing an additional 5,271 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the second quarter worth $337,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Merit Medical Systems by 19.7% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,426 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Merit Medical Systems by 3.1% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 129,024 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $11,090,000 after purchasing an additional 3,933 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.66% of the company’s stock.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

NASDAQ MMSI opened at $104.40 on Monday. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.81 and a 52-week high of $106.87. The stock has a market cap of $6.08 billion, a PE ratio of 51.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $99.69 and a 200-day moving average of $92.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a current ratio of 5.36.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $339.85 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $334.60 million. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.61% and a net margin of 9.05%. The business’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.75 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merit Medical Systems

In other Merit Medical Systems news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 29,646 shares of Merit Medical Systems 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,361 shares in the company, valued at $1,603,705.22. The trade was a 64.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director F. Ann Millner sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MMSI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America raised their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $92.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com downgraded Merit Medical Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 3rd. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $109.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $114.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.