Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 345 Shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Federated Hermes Inc. trimmed its holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 52.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 310 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 345 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $33,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in Merit Medical Systems by 14.9% in the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 62,743 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,633,000 after purchasing an additional 8,151 shares during the period. Angeles Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merit Medical Systems in the first quarter worth about $218,000. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its position in Merit Medical Systems by 2.7% in the first quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 26,931 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,847,000 after purchasing an additional 707 shares during the period. Westover Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Merit Medical Systems by 2.6% in the first quarter. Westover Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,728 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $711,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in Merit Medical Systems by 11.5% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 11,253 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,190,000 after purchasing an additional 1,160 shares during the period. 99.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merit Medical Systems Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of MMSI stock opened at $84.04 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.66, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $90.16 and a 200-day moving average of $96.32. The company has a current ratio of 4.09, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $81.04 and a 1-year high of $111.45.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.16. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.31%. The business had revenue of $382.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $372.47 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 20,000 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.54, for a total transaction of $1,930,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,066,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,914,343.12. This trade represents a 1.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director F. Ann Millner sold 21,250 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.47, for a total value of $2,049,987.50. Following the sale, the director owned 34,543 shares in the company, valued at $3,332,363.21. This trade represents a 38.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 85,596 shares of company stock valued at $8,171,433. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on MMSI. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James Financial lowered their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $108.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $103.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $112.00 target price on Merit Medical Systems and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merit Medical Systems has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.00.

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.