Strs Ohio Trims Stock Position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Strs Ohio lessened its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 23.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,700 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 4,100 shares during the period. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $1,040,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Merit Medical Systems in the fourth quarter valued at $2,195,000. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,151,938 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $163,461,000 after purchasing an additional 11,995 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $206,000. Diversified Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 10,716 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $814,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MMSI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $98.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merit Medical Systems

In other Merit Medical Systems news, Director Thomas James Gunderson sold 18,157 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.03, for a total value of $1,380,476.71. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,464,109.71. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 6,480 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.95, for a total value of $479,196.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 12,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $887,917.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas James Gunderson sold 18,157 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.03, for a total transaction of $1,380,476.71. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 19,257 shares in the company, valued at $1,464,109.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,637 shares of company stock worth $3,751,673 in the last ninety days. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MMSI opened at $74.18 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 5.45 and a quick ratio of 3.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.79, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s 50-day moving average is $74.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.68. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.58 and a 1-year high of $85.62.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $324.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $320.66 million. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 7.51% and a return on equity of 14.63%. Merit Medical Systems’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. Analysts forecast that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.31 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.