Shelton Capital Management Trims Stake in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Shelton Capital Management cut its stake in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,273 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 150 shares during the period. Shelton Capital Management’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the 4th quarter valued at about $52,000. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 139.1% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 655 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 237.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 977 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,494 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $144,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Merit Medical Systems

In related news, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 31,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.86, for a total transaction of $3,252,895.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $112,794,868.08. This represents a 2.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian G. Lloyd sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.50, for a total value of $2,487,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,879,803.50. This represents a 39.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 109,132 shares of company stock worth $11,139,521 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MMSI. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $111.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $128.00 to $127.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Raymond James raised their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $116.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Friday, March 28th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merit Medical Systems has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.33.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

MMSI opened at $92.04 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $101.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $100.86. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $70.70 and a 52-week high of $111.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a current ratio of 5.36.

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.