Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. Raises Stock Position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 45.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,679 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 2,400 shares during the period. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $759,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMSI. 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 buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 4.9% during the second quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,621 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its position in Merit Medical Systems by 0.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position 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 lifted its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 2.7% in the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 8,122 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $803,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the period. 99.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director F. Ann Millner sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were 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 owns 32,391 shares in the company, valued at $3,289,306.05. This trade represents a 27.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 29,646 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,361 shares in the company, valued at $1,603,705.22. This represents a 64.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

NASDAQ MMSI opened at $104.70 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 5.36 and a quick ratio of 3.82. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $99.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.28. The company has a market cap of $6.10 billion, a PE ratio of 51.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.84. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.46 and a 1-year 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $339.85 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $334.60 million. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 15.61%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.75 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Merit Medical Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 3rd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (up previously from $100.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Monday, September 9th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $114.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America raised their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $92.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $85.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Three equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.36.

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.