Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 168,174 Shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 43.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 559,395 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 168,174 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.96% of Merit Medical Systems worth $53,433,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 84,923 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the 3rd quarter valued at about $718,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 3.2% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 221,690 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $21,910,000 after acquiring an additional 6,837 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 10.8% during the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 66,535 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $5,719,000 after acquiring an additional 6,487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 3.1% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 129,024 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $11,090,000 after acquiring an additional 3,933 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.66% of the company’s stock.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Down 3.2 %

Shares of Merit Medical Systems stock opened at $99.00 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a current ratio of 5.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.77 billion, a PE ratio of 48.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.84. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $70.31 and a 52-week high of $108.07. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.64.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.06. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 15.61%. The firm had revenue of $339.85 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $334.60 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.75 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 price objective (up previously from $100.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $114.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Merit Medical Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $103.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.09.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 29,646 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.02, for a total transaction of $2,905,900.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,603,705.22. The trade was a 64.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director F. Ann Millner sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.55, for a total transaction of $1,269,375.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 32,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,289,306.05. This trade represents a 27.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.