Great Lakes Advisors LLC Sells 3,989 Shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC decreased its stake in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 130,394 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 3,989 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned about 0.22% of Merit Medical Systems worth $12,612,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MMSI. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 305.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 112,727 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $11,142,000 after purchasing an additional 84,923 shares in the last quarter. EULAV Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 400.0% in the 4th quarter. EULAV Asset Management now owns 115,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $11,123,000 after purchasing an additional 92,000 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 221,690 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $21,910,000 after purchasing an additional 6,837 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 85.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 575,946 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $56,921,000 after purchasing an additional 265,648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AMI Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 28.7% in the 4th quarter. AMI Asset Management Corp now owns 33,041 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,196,000 after purchasing an additional 7,367 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.66% of the company’s stock.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ MMSI opened at $98.37 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 5.36, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $70.70 and a 12 month high of $111.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.79 billion, a PE ratio of 48.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $103.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $100.55.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $116.00 price objective (up previously from $114.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Barrington Research dropped their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $115.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $122.00 to $116.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $128.00 to $127.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $110.78.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 31,320 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.86, for a total value of $3,252,895.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,028 shares in the company, valued at $112,794,868.08. This trade represents a 2.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 12,451 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.81, for a total transaction of $1,230,283.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 24,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,391,300.81. The trade was a 33.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 109,132 shares of company stock worth $11,139,521. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.