California Public Employees Retirement System Grows Stock Holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 81,751 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,636 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $6,210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 69.3% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 103,099 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $7,116,000 after purchasing an additional 42,191 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 26.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 607,881 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $41,956,000 after acquiring an additional 125,605 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Merit Medical Systems by 161.7% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 141,938 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $9,797,000 after acquiring an additional 87,711 shares during the last quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 18.0% in the third quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 97,874 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $6,755,000 after acquiring an additional 14,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 352.9% during the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 31,813 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,196,000 after purchasing an additional 24,788 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Merit Medical Systems

In related news, insider Joseph Wright sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total value of $1,892,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,195,436.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Merit Medical Systems news, Director Thomas James Gunderson sold 18,157 shares of the company’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 sale, the director now owns 19,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,464,109.71. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph Wright sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $1,892,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 42,223 shares in the company, valued at $3,195,436.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,637 shares of company stock valued at $3,751,673 in the last quarter. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Merit Medical Systems Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of MMSI stock opened at $78.97 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $74.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a PE ratio of 45.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 6.03 and a quick ratio of 3.95. 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 quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $323.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $315.57 million. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 7.94% and a return on equity of 15.02%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America assumed coverage on Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $87.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised Merit Medical Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer increased their price target 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. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.78.

Merit Medical Systems Company 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.