Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) Shares Sold by Eagle Asset Management Inc.

Eagle Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 2.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 301,350 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 6,084 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $30,961,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 727,340 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $71,883,000 after purchasing an additional 54,122 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 67.6% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 14,024 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,386,000 after acquiring an additional 5,654 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,462,000. EULAV Asset Management purchased a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,273,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 216.8% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 10,064 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $995,000 after acquiring an additional 6,887 shares during the period. 99.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merit Medical Systems Trading Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ:MMSI opened at $105.33 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.63, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 5.36, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $98.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $90.65. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.46 and a 12-month high of $106.87.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $339.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $334.60 million. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.61% and a net margin of 9.05%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.75 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on MMSI. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $114.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com cut Merit Medical Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 3rd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $92.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $85.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.36.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director F. Ann Millner sold 12,500 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.55, for a total value of $1,269,375.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 32,391 shares in the company, valued at $3,289,306.05. The trade was a 27.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 29,646 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.02, for a total value of $2,905,900.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,603,705.22. This trade represents a 64.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

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.