Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 168,174 Shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 43.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 559,395 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 168,174 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $53,433,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 1.0% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 10,398 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,028,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the third quarter worth approximately $207,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 13.9% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,732 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $171,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,357,265 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $134,165,000 after purchasing an additional 17,490 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 305.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 112,727 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $11,142,000 after purchasing an additional 84,923 shares during the period. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Merit Medical Systems

In other news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 29,646 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.02, for a total value of $2,905,900.92. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,603,705.22. This represents a 64.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director F. Ann Millner sold 12,500 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 32,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,289,306.05. This represents a 27.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MMSI shares. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $109.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Merit Medical Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $103.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $114.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.09.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

Merit Medical Systems stock opened at $99.00 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $5.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.53, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $100.59 and its 200 day moving average is $93.64. The company has a quick ratio of 3.82, a current ratio of 5.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $70.31 and a 52-week high of $108.07.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $339.85 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $334.60 million. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 15.61%. Merit Medical Systems’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.75 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.