Merit Medical Systems, Inc. $MMSI Shares Purchased by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 119.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 367 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $39,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMSI. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Merit Medical Systems in the first quarter valued at approximately $80,679,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 109.4% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 660,394 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $69,810,000 after acquiring an additional 345,070 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 3,197.9% during the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 342,912 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $33,166,000 after purchasing an additional 332,514 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 16.4% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,787,289 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $188,934,000 after purchasing an additional 251,821 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the fourth quarter worth $21,824,000. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on MMSI shares. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $112.00 price target on Merit Medical Systems and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Raymond James Financial decreased their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $108.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $103.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merit Medical Systems presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.61, for a total value of $38,244.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,045,628 shares in the company, valued at $99,972,493.08. The trade was a 0.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Lynne N. Ward sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.56, for a total value of $265,680.00. Following the sale, the director owned 12,809 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,134,365.04. This trade represents a 18.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,014 shares of company stock worth $1,933,680. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Up 0.9%

MMSI stock opened at $92.97 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $88.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.70. 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 twelve month low of $81.04 and a twelve month high of $111.45. The stock has a market cap of $5.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.19, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Merit Medical Systems 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.