Zions Bancorporation N.A. Acquires 7,358 Shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its stake in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 19.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,428 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,358 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. owned 0.08% of Merit Medical Systems worth $4,297,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MMSI. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 70.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,577,246 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $155,879,000 after purchasing an additional 649,799 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,926,000. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,057,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 218.9% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 445,500 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $44,029,000 after acquiring an additional 305,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 85.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 575,946 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $56,921,000 after acquiring an additional 265,648 shares during the period. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MMSI. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $116.00 price objective (up from $114.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Barrington Research decreased their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $115.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $122.00 to $116.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $110.78.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

NASDAQ:MMSI opened at $104.68 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $104.11 and its 200 day moving average is $100.87. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $70.70 and a 12 month high of $111.45. The company has a market capitalization of $6.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 5.36, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 5,361 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.58, for a total value of $555,292.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 24,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,506,739.58. This trade represents a 18.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 directly owns 1,086,028 shares in the company, valued at $112,794,868.08. The trade was a 2.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 109,132 shares of company stock valued at $11,139,521 in the last quarter. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.