Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) Shares Sold by Jennison Associates LLC

Jennison Associates LLC cut its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,766 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 757 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $1,046,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 69.3% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 103,099 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $7,116,000 after buying an additional 42,191 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 26.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 607,881 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $41,956,000 after buying an additional 125,605 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 161.7% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 141,938 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $9,797,000 after buying an additional 87,711 shares in the last quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 18.0% in the 3rd quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 97,874 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $6,755,000 after buying an additional 14,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC lifted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 352.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 31,813 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,196,000 after purchasing an additional 24,788 shares in the last quarter. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Merit Medical Systems

In related news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 6,480 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.95, for a total value of $479,196.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 12,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $887,917.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Thomas James Gunderson sold 18,157 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.03, for a total transaction of $1,380,476.71. Following the sale, the director now owns 19,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,464,109.71. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 6,480 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.95, for a total value of $479,196.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 12,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $887,917.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 49,637 shares of company stock worth $3,751,673. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Up 0.5 %

Merit Medical Systems stock opened at $73.78 on Friday. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.58 and a fifty-two week high of $85.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 3.95 and a current ratio of 5.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $74.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.76. The company has a market capitalization of $4.28 billion, a PE ratio of 45.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.89.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.04. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 7.51% and a return on equity of 14.63%. The firm had revenue of $324.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $320.66 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $88.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. CL King assumed coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $98.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.78.

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.