Arizona State Retirement System Has $1.22 Million Holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Arizona State Retirement System lessened its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,112 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 258 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $1,224,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 10,098,400 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $746,777,000 after purchasing an additional 427,712 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,700,655 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $378,653,000 after acquiring an additional 377,858 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,895,695 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $268,881,000 after acquiring an additional 520,423 shares in the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,139,943 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $147,699,000 after acquiring an additional 45,675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,080,608 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $174,022,000 after acquiring an additional 45,119 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 6,480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.95, for a total transaction of $479,196.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 12,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $887,917.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director F. Ann Millner sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $1,600,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 29,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,396,800. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 6,480 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.95, for a total transaction of $479,196.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 12,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $887,917.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 69,637 shares of company stock valued at $5,351,673. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMSI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Merit Medical Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $87.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Thursday. Barrington Research raised their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Merit Medical Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merit Medical Systems has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.50.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

Shares of Merit Medical Systems stock opened at $72.63 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $75.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.89. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.58 and a fifty-two week high of $85.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 5.45 and a quick ratio of 3.95.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $324.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $320.66 million. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 7.51% and a return on equity of 14.63%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.