Everence Capital Management Inc. Sells 2,800 Shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Everence Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 27.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,340 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 2,800 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $710,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 6,487 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in Merit Medical Systems by 0.4% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 166,222 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $14,287,000 after purchasing an additional 695 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the second quarter worth $77,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 61,742 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $5,307,000 after buying an additional 1,226 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,217 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,394,000 after buying an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. 99.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MMSI. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Merit Medical Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $103.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $109.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com cut Merit Medical Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.70.

Merit Medical Systems Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ MMSI opened at $95.89 on Friday. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $70.70 and a 1-year high of $108.07. The company has a 50-day moving average of $101.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.81. The company has a market cap of $5.59 billion, a PE ratio of 47.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 5.36, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $339.85 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $334.60 million. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 15.61%. Merit Medical Systems’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.75 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Merit Medical Systems

In other Merit Medical Systems news, Director F. Ann Millner sold 12,500 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.55, for a total transaction of $1,269,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 32,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,289,306.05. The trade was a 27.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 29,646 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.02, for a total value of $2,905,900.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,603,705.22. This trade represents a 64.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Merit Medical Systems 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.