Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Has $71.88 Million Stock Holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. $MMSI

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 768,970 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 81,469 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $71,883,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Maseco LLP bought a new stake in Merit Medical Systems in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 1,435.0% in the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 307 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 119.8% during the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 367 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in Merit Medical Systems by 55.6% in the 2nd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 375 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the 1st quarter valued at $41,000. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

Shares of MMSI opened at $85.09 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $84.26 and a 200 day moving average of $88.88. The company has a market capitalization of $5.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.19, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.64. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $78.12 and a 12 month high of $111.45. The company has a current ratio of 4.09, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $384.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $371.69 million. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.31%.The business’s revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. Merit Medical Systems has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.660-3.790 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Tuesday. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $109.00 price target (up previously from $105.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $106.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Friday. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $103.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merit Medical Systems presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $104.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merit Medical Systems news, Director Lynne N. Ward sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.56, for a total value of $265,680.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 12,809 shares in the company, valued at $1,134,365.04. The trade was a 18.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 3.20% 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.