M&T Bank Corp Increases Stake in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

M&T Bank Corp increased its position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 65.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 29,223 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,512 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $2,219,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MMSI opened at $79.11 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $74.16 and a 200 day moving average of $74.46. The company has a market capitalization of $4.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.47, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.91. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.58 and a 1-year high of $85.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 6.03 and a quick ratio of 4.38.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last released its 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 company had revenue of $323.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $315.57 million. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.02% and a net margin of 7.94%. Merit Medical Systems’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 6,480 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.95, for a total value of $479,196.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 12,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $887,917.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Merit Medical Systems news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 6,480 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.95, for a total value of $479,196.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 12,007 shares in the company, valued at $887,917.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph Wright sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total value of $1,892,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 42,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,195,436.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,637 shares of company stock worth $3,751,673 in the last quarter. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MMSI shares. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $112.00 to $102.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. CL King initiated coverage on Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Bank of America initiated coverage on Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $87.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barrington Research lifted their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.78.

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.