Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 94.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 56,629 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,523 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $4,302,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MMSI. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,702,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 1,150.0% during the 1st quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 572,159 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $42,310,000 after buying an additional 526,385 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,895,695 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $268,881,000 after buying an additional 520,423 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 108.7% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 875,581 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $61,834,000 after buying an additional 456,031 shares during the period. Finally, BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 10,098,400 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $746,777,000 after buying an additional 427,712 shares during the period. 99.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Merit Medical Systems

In related news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 6,480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.95, for a total transaction of $479,196.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 12,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $887,917.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Merit Medical Systems news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 6,480 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.95, for a total value of $479,196.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 12,007 shares in the company, valued at $887,917.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Joseph Wright sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total value of $1,892,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 42,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,195,436.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 69,637 shares of company stock valued at $5,351,673 over the last quarter. 3.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on MMSI. Bank of America began coverage on Merit Medical Systems in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $87.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $88.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com downgraded Merit Medical Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $98.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.50.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

MMSI opened at $72.03 on Friday. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.58 and a 12-month high of $85.62. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $75.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.50. The company has a market capitalization of $4.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.46, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 5.45, a quick ratio of 3.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.04. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 14.63% and a net margin of 7.51%. The company had revenue of $324.52 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $320.66 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.