Shell Asset Management Co. Trims Holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Shell Asset Management Co. trimmed its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 3.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,433 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 256 shares during the quarter. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $563,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Merit Medical Systems by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,174,483 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $164,717,000 after buying an additional 22,545 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,306,702 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $99,258,000 after purchasing an additional 41,065 shares during the period. Channing Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 728,188 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $55,313,000 after purchasing an additional 20,031 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 652,626 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $49,573,000 after purchasing an additional 10,659 shares during the period. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. MA raised its position in Merit Medical Systems by 4,411.3% during the 1st quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 518,485 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $39,275,000 after purchasing an additional 506,992 shares in the last quarter. 99.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MMSI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Baird R W upgraded shares of Merit Medical Systems to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $102.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.20.

Insider Activity at Merit Medical Systems

In other Merit Medical Systems news, COO Neil Peterson sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.85, for a total transaction of $613,875.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 14,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,212,935.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director F. Ann Millner sold 12,500 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $1,062,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 32,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,753,235. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Neil Peterson sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.85, for a total transaction of $613,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 14,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,212,935.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Up 0.0 %

NASDAQ MMSI traded up $0.01 on Friday, hitting $85.01. The stock had a trading volume of 46,205 shares, compared to its average volume of 442,295. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.58 and a 52-week high of $88.85. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $83.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $79.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 6.03 and a quick ratio of 4.38. The stock has a market cap of $4.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.88.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $323.51 million for 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.64 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.28 earnings per share 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.