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

Hancock Whitney Corp raised its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,122 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring 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 quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MMSI. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 2.9% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,216 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its position in Merit Medical Systems by 4.9% during the second quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,621 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $311,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 5.9% in the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,991 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Merit Medical Systems by 19.7% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,426 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 32.7% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. 99.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on MMSI shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $114.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America raised their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $92.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $85.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 target price (up previously from $100.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merit Medical Systems currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.36.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 29,646 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was 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 directly owns 16,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,603,705.22. This represents a 64.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director F. Ann Millner sold 12,500 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.55, for a total value of $1,269,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 32,391 shares in the company, valued at $3,289,306.05. This represents a 27.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Down 0.9 %

MMSI stock opened at $104.00 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 5.36, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $98.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.33. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.46 and a 12 month high of $106.87. The company has a market cap of $6.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.98, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.89.

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

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.