ResMed (NYSE:RMD) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

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

RMD has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on ResMed from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $281.00 target price on shares of ResMed in a report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of ResMed from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of ResMed from $311.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of ResMed from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $299.27.

ResMed Price Performance

NYSE:RMD opened at $230.80 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $254.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $257.89. ResMed has a 12 month low of $199.92 and a 12 month high of $293.81. The firm has a market cap of $33.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 3.06, a quick ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

ResMed (NYSE:RMD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. ResMed had a return on equity of 25.20% and a net margin of 27.53%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.43 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that ResMed will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ResMed Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 12th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 12th. ResMed’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Michael J. Farrell sold 4,991 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.03, for a total transaction of $1,252,890.73. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 466,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $117,035,959.69. The trade was a 1.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Peter C. Farrell sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.22, for a total transaction of $520,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 62,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,334,790.06. This represents a 3.09% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 21,073 shares of company stock valued at $5,405,198 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ResMed

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of ResMed during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $306,452,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in ResMed by 240.9% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,517,592 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $365,542,000 after acquiring an additional 1,072,394 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in ResMed by 126.0% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,413,477 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $340,464,000 after acquiring an additional 787,949 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in ResMed by 25.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,891,697 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $696,523,000 after acquiring an additional 578,559 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB increased its stake in ResMed by 103.1% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,102,476 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $265,553,000 after acquiring an additional 559,765 shares during the last quarter. 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.