King Luther Capital Management Corp Has $5.90 Million Stock Position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 10.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 61,014 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,751 shares during the quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp owned approximately 0.10% of Merit Medical Systems worth $5,901,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 70.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,577,246 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $155,879,000 after buying an additional 649,799 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,926,000. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,057,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 305,800 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake 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 last quarter. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MMSI. Barrington Research lowered their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $115.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $128.00 to $127.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Raymond James boosted their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $122.00 to $116.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.78.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

MMSI opened at $98.40 on Wednesday. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $70.70 and a 1-year high of $111.45. The company has a market cap of $5.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.24, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.91. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $103.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $100.56. The company has a current ratio of 5.36, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Brian G. Lloyd sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.90, for a total value of $3,087,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 38,945 shares in the company, valued at $4,007,440.50. This represents a 43.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 31,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.86, for a total transaction of $3,252,895.20. Following the transaction, 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 109,132 shares of company stock worth $11,139,521 in the last quarter. 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.