Hilltop National Bank Trims Holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Hilltop National Bank trimmed its position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 10.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,427 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 165 shares during the quarter. Hilltop National Bank’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $138,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in Merit Medical Systems in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $59,000. National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $112,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $120,000. 99.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Merit Medical Systems

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 transaction, the director now owns 32,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,289,306.05. This trade represents a 27.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 29,646 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,603,705.22. This represents a 64.44 % 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 2.0 %

Shares of MMSI opened at $96.16 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.60 billion, a PE ratio of 47.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a fifty day moving average of $101.06 and a 200 day moving average of $95.33. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $70.70 and a 52-week high of $108.07. The company has a quick ratio of 3.82, a current ratio of 5.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MMSI. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $114.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Merit Medical Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $103.00 to $120.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Raymond James increased their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. Two 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.70.

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.