Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,313 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 2,681 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $2,106,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atria Investments Inc lifted its position in Merit Medical Systems by 25.5% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 10,461 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,034,000 after acquiring an additional 2,127 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc purchased a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the third quarter worth about $11,860,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 16.9% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,572 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $847,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp purchased a new stake in Merit Medical Systems in the third quarter valued at approximately $718,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Merit Medical Systems by 32.7% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,056 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. 99.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on MMSI. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $114.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $109.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Merit Medical Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (up previously from $100.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merit Medical Systems currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.36.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

MMSI opened at $101.20 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 5.36, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $97.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.62. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.46 and a twelve month high of $105.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.90 billion, a PE ratio of 49.68, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Insider Activity at Merit Medical Systems

In other Merit Medical Systems news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 29,646 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.02, for a total value of $2,905,900.92. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,361 shares in the company, valued at $1,603,705.22. The trade was a 64.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.