14,302 Shares in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) Acquired by UniSuper Management Pty Ltd

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 14,302 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,083,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Congress Asset Management Co. MA grew its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 4,411.3% in the first quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 518,485 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $39,275,000 after purchasing an additional 506,992 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,165,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 818.6% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 278,452 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $21,151,000 after purchasing an additional 248,140 shares in the last quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE purchased a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the 1st quarter valued at $5,502,000. Finally, Axiom Investors LLC DE increased its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 125.2% in the fourth quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 101,993 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $7,747,000 after purchasing an additional 56,709 shares during the period. 99.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on MMSI shares. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. CL King initiated 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Merit Medical Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 5th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Baird R W raised Merit Medical Systems to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.20.

Merit Medical Systems Trading Up 0.5 %

MMSI traded up $0.47 on Wednesday, hitting $87.00. 388,836 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 446,119. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 4.38 and a current ratio of 6.03. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.06 billion, a PE ratio of 50.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.88. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.58 and a 12 month high of $88.85.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.06. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 7.94% and a return on equity of 15.02%. The company had revenue of $323.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $315.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Merit Medical Systems

In related news, COO Neil Peterson sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.85, for a total transaction of $613,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 14,819 shares in the company, valued at $1,212,935.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, COO Neil Peterson sold 7,500 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.85, for a total transaction of $613,875.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 14,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,212,935.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director F. Ann Millner sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $1,062,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 32,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,753,235. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

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.