Public Sector Pension Investment Board Purchases 39,653 Shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 27.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 184,852 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 39,653 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned 0.31% of Merit Medical Systems worth $19,541,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MMSI. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 63.2% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 26,183 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,532,000 after purchasing an additional 10,135 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 139.1% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 655 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 195.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 23,458 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,269,000 after purchasing an additional 15,530 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 16.5% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 108,712 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $10,515,000 after purchasing an additional 15,400 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the fourth quarter valued at about $48,926,000. Institutional investors own 99.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merit Medical Systems news, Director David Floyd sold 3,515 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.16, for a total transaction of $330,972.40. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,880 shares in the company, valued at $459,500.80. This represents a 41.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.61, for a total value of $38,244.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,045,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,972,493.08. This trade represents a 0.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 85,596 shares of company stock valued at $8,171,433 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

NASDAQ:MMSI opened at $84.04 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 4.09, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market capitalization of $4.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.66. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $81.04 and a 12 month high of $111.45. The business’s 50-day moving average is $90.16 and its 200 day moving average is $96.32.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $382.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $372.47 million. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.31%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.92 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on MMSI shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Friday, July 18th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $112.00 price target on Merit Medical Systems and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $108.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.00.

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.