QRG Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

QRG Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,115 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 457 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $785,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMSI. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 32.7% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,056 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the 3rd quarter valued at $120,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,494 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $144,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 13.9% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,732 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $171,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merit Medical Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at about $207,000. 99.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $116.00 target price (up from $114.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $128.00 to $127.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $122.00 to $116.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Barrington Research dropped their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $115.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.78.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MMSI opened at $101.89 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $103.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a current ratio of 5.36. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $70.70 and a 1-year high of $111.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.87.

Insider Activity at Merit Medical Systems

In other Merit Medical Systems news, Director Stephen C. Evans sold 5,000 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.31, for a total value of $526,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,657 shares in the company, valued at $490,428.67. The trade was a 51.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Brian G. Lloyd sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.50, for a total value of $2,487,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 38,993 shares in the company, valued at $3,879,803.50. The trade was a 39.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 42,451 shares of company stock valued at $4,244,333 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

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.