Merit Medical Systems, Inc. $MMSI Shares Sold by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its stake in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 2.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,150,386 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 32,871 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 1.95% of Merit Medical Systems worth $121,602,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 1,435.0% during the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 307 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the first quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 1,518.5% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 437 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the first quarter valued at approximately $60,000. 99.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on MMSI shares. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $103.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of 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. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of 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. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $108.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merit Medical Systems

In related news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 15,181 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.75, for a total transaction of $1,423,218.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 24,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,268,843.75. This represents a 38.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael R. Mcdonnell sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.51, for a total transaction of $165,392.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $604,391.45. This trade represents a 21.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 66,779 shares of company stock worth $6,327,983 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:MMSI opened at $86.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a current ratio of 4.09. The company has a market cap of $5.13 billion, a PE ratio of 43.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.66. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $81.04 and a 52 week high of $111.45. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $88.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $95.26.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.16. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 8.31% and a return on equity of 15.07%. The firm had revenue of $382.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $372.47 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current year.

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.