Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Sells 207 Shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. trimmed its holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,461 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 207 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $431,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 649,799 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 218.9% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 445,500 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $44,029,000 after acquiring an additional 305,800 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 85.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 575,946 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $56,921,000 after buying an additional 265,648 shares during the last quarter. Iron Triangle Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,004,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the third quarter valued at approximately $21,156,000. Institutional investors own 99.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MMSI shares. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Merit Medical Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 3rd. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $109.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $108.10.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Merit Medical Systems Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ MMSI opened at $104.64 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a current ratio of 5.36. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $101.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.29, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.85. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $70.70 and a 52-week high of $108.07.

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

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.