KBC Group NV Sells 1,372 Shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. $MMSI

KBC Group NV cut its stake in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 51.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,319 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,372 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $123,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MMSI. Maverick Capital Ltd. bought a new stake in Merit Medical Systems in the first quarter valued at $134,517,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the first quarter valued at $80,679,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 109.4% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 660,394 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $69,810,000 after purchasing an additional 345,070 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 16.4% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 172.9% during the 1st quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 227,814 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $24,082,000 after purchasing an additional 144,350 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.66% of the company’s stock.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

Shares of Merit Medical Systems stock opened at $84.88 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $88.61. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $78.12 and a fifty-two week high of $111.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 4.09 and a quick ratio of 2.66. The firm has a market cap of $5.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.64.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $384.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $371.69 million. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.31%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.86 EPS. Merit Medical Systems has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.660-3.790 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Merit Medical Systems

In other news, Chairman Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.83, for a total value of $424,150.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 1,074,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $91,188,432.65. This represents a 0.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on MMSI. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Zacks Research cut shares of Merit Medical Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $103.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $108.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merit Medical Systems presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.50.

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.