Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) Shares Acquired by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 108.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 39,400 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 20,506 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $3,811,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp increased its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 0.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,231,701 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $220,559,000 after purchasing an additional 15,098 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 70.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,577,246 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $155,879,000 after buying an additional 649,799 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Merit Medical Systems by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,357,265 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $134,165,000 after acquiring an additional 17,490 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 748,561 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $72,401,000 after acquiring an additional 21,221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in Merit Medical Systems by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 641,705 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $63,406,000 after acquiring an additional 3,068 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.66% of the company’s stock.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MMSI opened at $104.68 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 5.36 and a quick ratio of 3.82. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $104.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.87. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $70.70 and a 12 month high of $111.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Stephen C. Evans sold 5,000 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.31, for a total transaction of $526,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,657 shares in the company, valued at $490,428.67. The trade was a 51.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian G. Lloyd sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.90, for a total value of $3,087,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,007,440.50. The trade was a 43.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 109,132 shares of company stock worth $11,139,521. 3.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on MMSI. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $122.00 to $116.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $128.00 to $127.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. Finally, Barrington Research dropped their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $115.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merit Medical Systems has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.78.

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.