Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) Shares Sold by Loomis Sayles & Co. L P

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P cut its holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,065,265 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 31,891 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $103,033,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 19.8% in the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 44,428 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,297,000 after purchasing an additional 7,358 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the 4th quarter valued at about $396,000. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 69,671 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,739,000 after acquiring an additional 8,623 shares during the period. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE boosted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 91,214 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $8,822,000 after acquiring an additional 3,188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,648,659 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $643,058,000 after purchasing an additional 63,314 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 MMSI stock opened at $103.70 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $100.94. The company has a market capitalization of $6.10 billion, a PE ratio of 50.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.91. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $70.70 and a twelve month high of $111.45. The company has a current ratio of 5.36, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barrington Research decreased their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $115.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $116.00 target price (up previously from $114.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Raymond James boosted their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $122.00 to $116.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merit Medical Systems has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.78.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Brian G. Lloyd sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.50, for a total transaction of $2,487,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 38,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,879,803.50. This trade represents a 39.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen C. Evans sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.31, for a total transaction of $526,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,657 shares in the company, valued at $490,428.67. This represents a 51.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 109,132 shares of company stock worth $11,139,521 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Merit Medical Systems Company 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.