NFJ Investment Group LLC Has $10.03 Million Holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

NFJ Investment Group LLC decreased its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 103,719 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 6,491 shares during the period. NFJ Investment Group LLC owned approximately 0.18% of Merit Medical Systems worth $10,032,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MMSI. Jump Financial LLC increased its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 391.6% during the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 32,429 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,137,000 after purchasing an additional 25,833 shares in the last quarter. Walleye Trading LLC bought a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $445,000. Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Merit Medical Systems in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $499,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 190.1% in the 4th quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 15,433 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,493,000 after acquiring an additional 10,113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Merit Medical Systems by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 5,987 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $579,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Brian G. Lloyd sold 25,000 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.50, for a total transaction of $2,487,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 38,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,879,803.50. This trade represents a 39.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen C. Evans sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 sold 109,132 shares of company stock worth $11,139,521 over the last three months. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $111.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, March 28th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $128.00 to $127.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $114.33.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

Shares of MMSI stock opened at $91.96 on Wednesday. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $70.70 and a 52 week high of $111.45. The company has a market capitalization of $5.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.08, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $101.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $100.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a current ratio of 5.36.

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.