Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) Shares Purchased by Hancock Whitney Corp

Hancock Whitney Corp grew its holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 2.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 8,122 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 214 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $803,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the third quarter worth $203,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the third quarter worth about $120,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the third quarter worth about $228,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Merit Medical Systems by 3.2% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 221,690 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $21,910,000 after purchasing an additional 6,837 shares during the period. Finally, Marco Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merit Medical Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $247,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on MMSI. Bank of America raised their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $92.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $85.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Merit Medical Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $110.00 target price (up from $100.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Monday, September 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Merit Medical Systems has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.36.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

Merit Medical Systems stock opened at $104.00 on Wednesday. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.46 and a fifty-two week high of $106.87. The company has a market capitalization of $6.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.98, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $98.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.33. 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 (NASDAQ:MMSI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.06. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.61% and a net margin of 9.05%. The firm had revenue of $339.85 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $334.60 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.75 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director F. Ann Millner sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $3,289,306.05. This trade represents a 27.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 29,646 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.02, for a total value of $2,905,900.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,603,705.22. The trade was a 64.44 % 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.