Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) Shares Sold by William Blair Investment Management LLC

William Blair Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 52.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 687,031 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 751,501 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $66,450,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,231,701 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $220,559,000 after purchasing an additional 15,098 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Merit Medical Systems by 70.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,577,246 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $155,879,000 after acquiring an additional 649,799 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Merit Medical Systems by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,357,265 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $134,165,000 after acquiring an additional 17,490 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Merit Medical Systems by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 748,561 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $72,401,000 after acquiring an additional 21,221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in Merit Medical Systems by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 641,705 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $63,406,000 after acquiring an additional 3,068 shares in the last quarter. 99.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

MMSI stock opened at $100.69 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $103.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.68. The stock has a market cap of $5.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.36, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.91. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $70.70 and a fifty-two week high of $111.45. The company has a quick ratio of 3.82, a current ratio of 5.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Brian G. Lloyd sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.90, for a total transaction of $3,087,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 38,945 shares in the company, valued at $4,007,440.50. The trade was a 43.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 31,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.86, for a total value of $3,252,895.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $112,794,868.08. The trade was a 2.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 109,132 shares of company stock worth $11,139,521 over the last 90 days. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MMSI shares. Barrington Research dropped their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $115.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $128.00 to $127.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price 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. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $116.00 target price (up from $114.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given 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 price target of $110.78.

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.