KBC Group NV Increases Stock Position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 42.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,265 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 679 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $219,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 18,314 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,771,000 after purchasing an additional 751 shares during the last quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $247,000. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH raised its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 195,140 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $18,874,000 after buying an additional 14,990 shares during the last quarter. AMI Asset Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 28.7% during the fourth quarter. AMI Asset Management Corp now owns 33,041 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,196,000 after buying an additional 7,367 shares during the period. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the 4th quarter worth $200,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MMSI shares. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $127.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of Merit Medical Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Merit Medical Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $103.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Raymond James upped their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.80.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MMSI opened at $108.01 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $101.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.95, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 3.82, a current ratio of 5.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $70.70 and a 52-week high of $111.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merit Medical Systems news, Director F. Ann Millner sold 12,500 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 32,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,289,306.05. The trade was a 27.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.70% of the stock is currently 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.