Wellington Management Group LLP Acquires New Holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 225,636 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $21,824,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 305.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 112,727 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $11,142,000 after acquiring an additional 84,923 shares in the last quarter. EULAV Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 400.0% during the fourth quarter. EULAV Asset Management now owns 115,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $11,123,000 after purchasing an additional 92,000 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 85.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 575,946 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $56,921,000 after purchasing an additional 265,648 shares during the last quarter. AMI Asset Management Corp increased its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 28.7% in the fourth quarter. AMI Asset Management Corp now owns 33,041 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,196,000 after buying an additional 7,367 shares during the period. Finally, Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Merit Medical Systems in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $800,000. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on MMSI. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. Barrington Research decreased their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $115.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Merit Medical Systems in a report on Friday, March 28th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $120.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $122.00 to $116.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merit Medical Systems currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.70.

Merit Medical Systems Trading Up 0.0 %

NASDAQ MMSI opened at $92.51 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $103.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $101.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 5.36 and a quick ratio of 3.82. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $70.70 and a one year high of $111.45.

Insider Transactions at Merit Medical Systems

In other news, insider Brian G. Lloyd sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 38,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,879,803.50. This represents a 39.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Stephen C. Evans sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.31, for a total value of $526,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 a total of 109,132 shares of company stock valued at $11,139,521 in the last quarter. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.