NFJ Investment Group LLC Reduces Holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

NFJ Investment Group LLC lowered its position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 19.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 110,210 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 26,721 shares during the quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC owned about 0.19% of Merit Medical Systems worth $10,892,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,216 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 4.9% in the second quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,621 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $311,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 0.6% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 28,637 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,830,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 2.6% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,440 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $735,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp increased its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 8,122 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $803,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the period. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merit Medical Systems Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of MMSI traded down $0.77 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $104.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 15,384 shares, compared to its average volume of 434,727. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.46 and a 52 week high of $106.87. The stock has a market cap of $6.06 billion, a PE ratio of 51.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $99.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.94. The company has a current ratio of 5.36, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $339.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $334.60 million. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 15.61%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.75 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MMSI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. 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. Bank of America upped their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $92.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com downgraded Merit Medical Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 3rd. Finally, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $114.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.