ResMed (NYSE:RMD) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of ResMed (NYSE:RMD) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on RMD. Robert W. Baird set a $281.00 price target on ResMed in a research note on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 target price on shares of ResMed in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley set a $305.00 price target on shares of ResMed in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of ResMed in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of ResMed from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $299.27.

ResMed Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RMD opened at $271.86 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 3.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market cap of $39.60 billion, a PE ratio of 26.89, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.87. The company’s fifty day moving average is $251.78 and its 200 day moving average is $263.37. ResMed has a 52 week low of $199.92 and a 52 week high of $293.81.

ResMed (NYSE:RMD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. ResMed had a net margin of 27.53% and a return on equity of 25.20%. The company’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.43 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that ResMed will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

ResMed Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 12th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. ResMed’s payout ratio is presently 23.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ResMed news, CEO Michael J. Farrell sold 4,991 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.46, for a total value of $1,240,063.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 466,223 shares in the company, valued at $115,837,766.58. This trade represents a 1.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Peter C. Farrell sold 2,000 shares of ResMed stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.31, for a total value of $502,620.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 64,773 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,278,102.63. The trade was a 3.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 15,633 shares of company stock valued at $3,918,368 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ResMed

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Entropy Technologies LP grew its holdings in ResMed by 188.7% during the second quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 16,384 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,227,000 after purchasing an additional 10,708 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its stake in shares of ResMed by 244.8% during the 2nd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 36,355 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $9,380,000 after buying an additional 25,810 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in ResMed by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 790,872 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $217,387,000 after buying an additional 26,629 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ResMed by 0.7% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 175,901 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $45,382,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB raised its stake in ResMed by 25.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 542,711 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $148,556,000 after purchasing an additional 109,760 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.98% of the company’s stock.

About ResMed

ResMed (NYSE: RMD) is a global medical device and cloud-connectivity company focused on improving outcomes for people with sleep-disordered breathing and chronic respiratory conditions. Founded in 1989, the company is headquartered in San Diego, California, and develops, manufactures and distributes a range of devices and software used by patients, clinicians and providers worldwide.

ResMed’s product portfolio centers on noninvasive ventilation and sleep therapy equipment, including continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and bilevel devices, masks and related accessories for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea and other respiratory disorders.