Citigroup Inc. Boosts Stake in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 71.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 74,656 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,988 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned about 0.13% of Merit Medical Systems worth $7,378,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MMSI. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 2.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,216 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $362,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,621 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 5.9% during the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,991 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 19.7% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,426 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $123,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of 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. 99.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merit Medical Systems Trading Up 0.2 %

MMSI opened at $103.90 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $99.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.72. The company has a market cap of $6.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.93, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.89. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $65.46 and a one year high of $106.87. 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 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $334.60 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.75 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MMSI shares. StockNews.com lowered Merit Medical Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 3rd. Bank of America raised 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 note on Monday, September 16th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target 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. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (up from $100.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Three investment 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merit Medical Systems

In other news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 29,646 shares of Merit Medical Systems 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,603,705.22. The trade was a 64.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director F. Ann Millner sold 12,500 shares of the 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 owns 32,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,289,306.05. This represents a 27.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.