BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 7,837.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,789,527 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 6,703,994 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. owned approximately 15.15% of Merit Medical Systems worth $196,218,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mason Street Advisors LLC raised its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 17.9% in the first quarter. Mason Street Advisors LLC now owns 11,491 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $332,000 after buying an additional 1,748 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,773,000. MARSHALL WACE ASIA Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the first quarter valued at approximately $15,657,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $503,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 10.1% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 81,700 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,361,000 after buying an additional 7,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.55% of the company’s stock.
Shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (MMSI) opened at 41.05 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $37.47 and a 200-day moving average of $31.94. The company has a market cap of $2.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.00 and a beta of 1.25. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.70 and a 52-week high of $42.25.
Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 26th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $186.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $181.46 million. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 4.87% and a return on equity of 9.78%. Merit Medical Systems’s revenue was up 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post $1.24 earnings per share for the current year.
Several analysts have commented on MMSI shares. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Wednesday, April 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $31.70 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “hold” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Thursday, April 6th. Craig Hallum began coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Monday, April 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of Merit Medical Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 26th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $37.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Friday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Merit Medical Systems presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $39.74.
In other news, Director Michael E. Stillabower sold 17,110 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.71, for a total transaction of $576,778.10. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 52,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,779,146.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Richard W. Edelman sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.62, for a total transaction of $752,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 35,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,316,700. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 82,944 shares of company stock worth $2,944,127. Corporate insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.
Merit Medical Systems Company Profile
Merit Medical Systems, Inc is a manufacturer and marketer of disposable medical devices used in a range of interventional, diagnostic and therapeutic medical procedures. The Company operates in two segments: cardiovascular and endoscopy. The cardiovascular segment consists of cardiology and radiology devices, which assist in diagnosing and treating coronary arterial disease, peripheral vascular disease and other non-vascular diseases, and includes embolotherapeutic, cardiac rhythm management (CRM), electrophysiology (EP), and interventional oncology and spine devices.
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