Park Avenue Securities LLC Acquires 821 Shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 20.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,812 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 821 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $465,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 10,398 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,028,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 2.9% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,216 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $362,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 4.9% in the second quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,621 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $311,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its position in Merit Medical Systems by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 28,637 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,830,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,440 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $735,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merit Medical Systems

In related news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 29,646 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was 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 owns 16,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,603,705.22. This represents 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 this link. Also, Director F. Ann Millner sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.55, for a total value of $1,269,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 32,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,289,306.05. The trade was a 27.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MMSI opened at $103.67 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a current ratio of 5.36. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $70.70 and a 52-week high of $108.07. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $101.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $96.34. The firm has a market cap of $6.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.82, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.85.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last issued its 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. The company had revenue of $339.85 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $334.60 million. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.61% and a net margin of 9.05%. Merit Medical Systems’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.75 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com lowered Merit Medical Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 3rd. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Merit Medical Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $103.00 to $120.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $108.10.

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.