Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Increases Holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. $MMSI

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its stake in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 13.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 76,563 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 9,167 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $5,277,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $1,537,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 54.2% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 313,981 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $27,674,000 after purchasing an additional 110,392 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in Merit Medical Systems in the 4th quarter valued at about $12,239,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $75,957,000. Finally, Peak Retirement Planning Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 35.4% in the 4th quarter. Peak Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 32,472 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,862,000 after buying an additional 8,494 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MMSI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $83.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $78.00 to $74.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Compass Point set a $107.00 target price on Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Monday, April 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $95.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merit Medical Systems currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.80.

Merit Medical Systems Trading Up 3.3%

MMSI opened at $80.84 on Thursday. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $59.74 and a 52 week high of $94.75. The company has a quick ratio of 3.46, a current ratio of 5.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.71. The firm has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.52.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $381.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $377.59 million. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 13.54% and a net margin of 9.03%.Merit Medical Systems’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.86 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Merit Medical Systems news, insider Brian G. Lloyd bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $62.62 per share, with a total value of $125,240.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $125,240. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Lynne N. Ward sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.61, for a total transaction of $313,050.00. Following the sale, the director owned 7,809 shares in the company, valued at approximately $488,921.49. This trade represents a 39.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Merit Medical Systems Profile

Merit Medical Systems, Inc is a global manufacturer and marketer of a broad range of medical devices used in diagnostic and interventional procedures. The company’s product portfolio encompasses vascular access, drainage, embolotherapy, and interventional oncology devices, as well as radiofrequency ablation systems and hemostasis solutions. These products serve physicians and hospitals in critical care settings and support minimally invasive treatment options across multiple specialties, including cardiology, radiology, oncology, neurology and endoscopy.

Founded in 1987 by Fred Lampropoulos, Merit Medical Systems has grown through both organic development and targeted acquisitions to expand its technology offerings and geographic reach.