Premier Fund Managers Ltd Sells 8,980 Shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Premier Fund Managers Ltd lowered its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 95.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 461 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 8,980 shares during the quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $44,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 63,314 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,231,701 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $220,559,000 after purchasing an additional 15,098 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 70.1% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,357,265 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $134,165,000 after purchasing an additional 17,490 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 748,561 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $72,401,000 after purchasing an additional 21,221 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MMSI. Barrington Research reduced their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $115.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Friday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $128.00 to $127.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $122.00 to $116.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merit Medical Systems

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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,879,803.50. This trade represents a 39.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen C. Evans sold 5,000 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 4,657 shares in the company, valued at $490,428.67. This trade represents a 51.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 109,132 shares of company stock valued at $11,139,521 in the last 90 days. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merit Medical Systems Trading Up 0.6 %

MMSI opened at $103.94 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.91. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $70.70 and a 12 month high of $111.45. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $104.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $101.00.

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.