Hilltop National Bank Cuts Stock Position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Hilltop National Bank lessened its stake in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 10.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the third quarter worth about $59,000. National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the second quarter worth about $77,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew 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 worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the second quarter worth about $112,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the third quarter worth about $120,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.66% of the company’s stock.

Merit Medical Systems Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of MMSI stock opened at $96.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 5.36 and a quick ratio of 3.82. The company has a market cap of $5.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.14, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $101.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.33. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $70.70 and a 1-year high of $108.07.

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, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $334.60 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on MMSI. StockNews.com downgraded Merit Medical Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 3rd. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $114.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Bank of America lifted their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $92.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director F. Ann Millner sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 32,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,289,306.05. This trade represents a 27.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 29,646 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

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.