Silver Oak Securities Incorporated Increases Stock Holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 53.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,358 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,877 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $407,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 15.4% in the third 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. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Merit Medical Systems by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,151,938 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $163,461,000 after buying an additional 11,995 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Merit Medical Systems by 1.2% during the third quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,388,905 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $95,862,000 after buying an additional 16,488 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its position in Merit Medical Systems by 25.9% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,031,173 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $71,172,000 after buying an additional 212,256 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Merit Medical Systems by 1.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 719,716 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $49,675,000 after buying an additional 11,967 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.66% of the company’s stock.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

NASDAQ MMSI opened at $74.10 on Wednesday. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $62.58 and a one year high of $85.62. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $74.31 and a 200 day moving average of $73.97. The company has a market capitalization of $4.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.74, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.89. 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 (NASDAQ:MMSI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.04. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 14.63% and a net margin of 7.51%. The company had revenue of $324.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $320.66 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. Merit Medical Systems’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on MMSI. CL King began coverage on Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Raymond James lifted their price target on 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, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $98.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Two research 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.78.

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.