Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $103.60 Million Stock Position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP decreased its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI – Get Rating) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,467,037 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 28,911 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $103,602,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 9,704,654 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $548,409,000 after buying an additional 617,129 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,700,655 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $378,653,000 after purchasing an additional 377,858 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,038,184 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $115,178,000 after purchasing an additional 112,986 shares during the period. Macquarie Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 1,419,176 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $80,252,000 after buying an additional 24,343 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 61.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 950,734 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $53,727,000 after buying an additional 361,635 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.38% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Lynne Ward sold 11,585 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total transaction of $772,835.35. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,964 shares in the company, valued at approximately $397,858.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Merit Medical Systems news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 1,023 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $71,610.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,688 shares in the company, valued at $468,160. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Lynne Ward sold 11,585 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total transaction of $772,835.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,964 shares in the company, valued at approximately $397,858.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 64,068 shares of company stock worth $4,341,157 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MMSI opened at $84.59 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $77.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.69. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $50.46 and a 12-month high of $85.39. The firm has a market cap of $4.86 billion, a PE ratio of 57.16, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 2.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 26th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.09. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 7.22% and a return on equity of 14.55%. The firm had revenue of $297.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $280.47 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.53 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $77.00 to $85.00 in a report on Thursday, April 27th. Barrington Research upped their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $78.00 to $90.00 in a report on Thursday, April 27th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $84.00 to $90.00 in a report on Thursday, April 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $74.00 to $81.00 in a report on Thursday, April 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.43.

Merit Medical Systems Profile

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Merit Medical Systems, Inc engages in the manufacture and marketing of proprietary disposable medical devices. It operates through the Cardiovascular and Endoscopy segments. The Cardiovascular segment consists of peripheral intervention, cardiac intervention, interventional oncology and spine, and cardiovascular and critical care product groups.