Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. Sells 11,574 Shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. lowered its position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 8.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 119,213 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 11,574 shares during the quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $10,246,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 0.4% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 166,222 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $14,287,000 after acquiring an additional 695 shares in the last quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 6,128 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $523,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 66,535 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $5,719,000 after purchasing an additional 6,487 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC grew its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 154.5% during the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 2,800 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Anfield Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the second quarter valued at about $86,000. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

Merit Medical Systems stock opened at $95.57 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.32. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.58 and a twelve month high of $96.99. The company has a market capitalization of $5.55 billion, a PE ratio of 54.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 4.64, a current ratio of 6.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.04. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 9.02%. The company had revenue of $338.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $334.94 million. Research analysts expect that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.31 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on MMSI. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Baird R W raised shares of Merit Medical Systems to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $102.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $94.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merit Medical Systems

In related news, COO Neil Peterson sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.85, for a total transaction of $613,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 14,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,212,935.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director F. Ann Millner sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $1,062,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 32,391 shares in the company, valued at $2,753,235. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Neil Peterson sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.85, for a total transaction of $613,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 14,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,212,935.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

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.