Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Invests $206,000 in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,707 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merit Medical Systems in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Tompkins Financial Corp acquired a new stake in Merit Medical Systems in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Merit Medical Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in Merit Medical Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at $67,000. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management increased its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 3,395 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merit Medical Systems news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 6,480 shares of the firm’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $887,917.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Merit Medical Systems news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 6,480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.95, for a total value of $479,196.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 12,007 shares in the company, valued at $887,917.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph Wright sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $1,892,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 42,223 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,195,436.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,637 shares of company stock valued at $3,751,673 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

Shares of MMSI stock opened at $74.03 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 3.95 and a current ratio of 5.45. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $62.58 and a one year high of $85.62. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $74.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.70, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.89.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $324.52 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $320.66 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. Merit Medical Systems’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. CL King started coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Merit Medical Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $88.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $98.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merit Medical Systems has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.50.

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.