Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Lowers Stake in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. reduced its position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,681 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,635 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $2,179,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 4.4% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 10,098,400 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $746,777,000 after acquiring an additional 427,712 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 6.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,700,655 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $378,653,000 after acquiring an additional 377,858 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 15.4% in the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,895,695 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $268,881,000 after acquiring an additional 520,423 shares in the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 2.2% in the third quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,139,943 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $147,699,000 after acquiring an additional 45,675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 2.2% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,080,608 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $174,022,000 after acquiring an additional 45,119 shares in the last quarter. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

MMSI opened at $72.03 on Friday. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.58 and a 52-week high of $85.62. The company has a quick ratio of 3.95, a current ratio of 5.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $4.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $75.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.50.

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

Insider Activity at Merit Medical Systems

In related news, Director F. Ann Millner sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $1,600,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 29,960 shares in the company, valued at $2,396,800. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director F. Ann Millner sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $1,600,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 29,960 shares in the company, valued at $2,396,800. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Thomas James Gunderson sold 18,157 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.03, for a total value of $1,380,476.71. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 19,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,464,109.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 69,637 shares of company stock worth $5,351,673 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 12th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Merit Medical Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $98.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.50.

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.