Teacher Retirement System of Texas Reduces Stock Position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas trimmed its holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Rating) by 37.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,004 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 16,780 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $1,978,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. MinichMacGregor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Merit Medical Systems by 157.4% during the fourth quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 471 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the first quarter valued at $43,000. Huntington National Bank raised its position in Merit Medical Systems by 81,800.0% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 819 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 818 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in Merit Medical Systems by 381.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,137 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 901 shares during the last quarter. 95.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MMSI shares. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $77.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 27th. Barrington Research increased their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $78.00 to $90.00 in a report on Thursday, April 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $74.00 to $81.00 in a report on Thursday, April 27th. StockNews.com started coverage on Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $84.00 to $90.00 in a research 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $83.43.

Shares of NASDAQ:MMSI opened at $83.95 on Tuesday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $79.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.76. The company has a market capitalization of $4.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.99. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $50.46 and a 1 year high of $85.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.58 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 26th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.09. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 14.55% and a net margin of 7.22%. The company had revenue of $297.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $280.47 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.53 EPS. Merit Medical Systems's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

In other news, Director Lynne Ward sold 11,585 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total value of $772,835.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,964 shares in the company, valued at approximately $397,858.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Lynne Ward sold 11,585 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.71, for a total transaction of $772,835.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,964 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $397,858.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Neil Peterson sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.75, for a total value of $550,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 46,562 shares of company stock worth $3,164,385. Insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

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.

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