Silver Oak Securities Incorporated Grows Stock Holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Silver Oak Securities Incorporated boosted its holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 37.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,686 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,544 shares during the quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $549,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 305.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 112,727 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $11,142,000 after buying an additional 84,923 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp purchased a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the third quarter worth about $718,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 3.2% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 85.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 575,946 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $56,921,000 after purchasing an additional 265,648 shares during the period. Finally, AMI Asset Management Corp grew its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 28.7% during the 4th quarter. AMI Asset Management Corp now owns 33,041 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,196,000 after buying an additional 7,367 shares during the last quarter. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

Shares of MMSI stock opened at $109.12 on Friday. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $101.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $97.91. The company has a market cap of $6.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.87. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $70.70 and a 12-month high of $111.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director F. Ann Millner sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.55, for a total transaction of $1,269,375.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 32,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,289,306.05. This represents a 27.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MMSI. StockNews.com downgraded Merit Medical Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Merit Medical Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $103.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $127.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Barrington Research increased their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $114.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $109.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $109.80.

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.