Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Buys 2,257 Shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,386 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,257 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned about 0.06% of Merit Medical Systems worth $2,688,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MMSI. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,895,695 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $268,881,000 after acquiring an additional 520,423 shares during the period. abrdn plc bought a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the third quarter valued at approximately $24,446,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 25.9% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,031,173 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $71,172,000 after buying an additional 212,256 shares during the period. Comerica Bank purchased a new position in Merit Medical Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $14,022,000. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC bought a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the 3rd quarter valued at $8,782,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MMSI shares. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $98.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $88.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Thursday, April 11th. CL King initiated coverage on Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $87.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas James Gunderson sold 18,157 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.03, for a total value of $1,380,476.71. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 19,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,464,109.71. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 6,480 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.95, for a total value of $479,196.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 12,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $887,917.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas James Gunderson sold 18,157 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.03, for a total transaction of $1,380,476.71. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 19,257 shares in the company, valued at $1,464,109.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,637 shares of company stock worth $3,751,673 in the last quarter. 3.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Merit Medical Systems stock opened at $74.03 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 5.45, a quick ratio of 3.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.58 and a 12-month high of $85.62. The company has a market cap of $4.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.70, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.69.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.04. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 7.51% and a return on equity of 14.63%. The company had revenue of $324.52 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $320.66 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. Merit Medical Systems’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.31 EPS for the current year.

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.