505,843 Shares in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) Purchased by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 505,843 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $48,926,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $66,638,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 31.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,076,439 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $200,833,000 after purchasing an additional 499,193 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new position in Merit Medical Systems in the 4th quarter valued at $38,688,000. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the 4th quarter valued at $36,057,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 85.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 575,946 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $56,921,000 after purchasing an additional 265,648 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.66% of the company’s stock.

Merit Medical Systems Trading Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ:MMSI opened at $93.25 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $5.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.85. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $70.70 and a 1 year high of $111.45. 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 fifty day moving average price is $101.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $100.85.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MMSI. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $116.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $116.00 price target (up previously from $114.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merit Medical Systems news, Director Stephen C. Evans sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.31, for a total value of $526,550.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,657 shares in the company, valued at $490,428.67. This represents a 51.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 31,320 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.86, for a total value of $3,252,895.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $112,794,868.08. This represents a 2.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 109,132 shares of company stock valued at $11,139,521. 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.