NFJ Investment Group LLC Sells 26,721 Shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

NFJ Investment Group LLC lowered its stake in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 19.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 110,210 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 26,721 shares during the quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $10,892,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MMSI. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $44,000. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $59,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 142.3% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 831 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $77,000. 99.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

Merit Medical Systems stock traded down $0.77 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $104.06. 15,384 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 434,727. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 5.36 and a quick ratio of 3.82. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.46 and a 12 month high of $106.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50 day moving average of $99.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.94.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.06. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.61% and a net margin of 9.05%. The firm had revenue of $339.85 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $334.60 million. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.75 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MMSI has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com cut Merit Medical Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $85.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 target price (up previously from $100.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merit Medical Systems currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merit Medical Systems

In related news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 29,646 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.02, for a total transaction of $2,905,900.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,603,705.22. The trade was a 64.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director F. Ann Millner sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.55, for a total transaction of $1,269,375.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 32,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,289,306.05. This represents a 27.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Merit Medical Systems Company 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.