Everence Capital Management Inc. Has $710,000 Stock Position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Everence Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 27.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,340 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 2,800 shares during the quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $710,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the 3rd quarter valued at about $59,000. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $77,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 32.7% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,056 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the second quarter valued at approximately $112,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the third quarter worth $120,000. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of 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 reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Raymond James boosted their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Merit Medical Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (up previously from $100.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merit Medical Systems currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.70.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of MMSI stock opened at $95.89 on Friday. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $70.70 and a 52-week high of $108.07. The stock has a market cap of $5.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.01, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $101.05 and its 200-day moving average is $94.81. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 period last year, the firm posted $0.75 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director F. Ann Millner sold 12,500 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.55, for a total transaction of $1,269,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 32,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,289,306.05. The trade was a 27.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 29,646 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.02, for a total transaction of $2,905,900.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,603,705.22. This trade represents a 64.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

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.