ResMed (NYSE:RMD) Now Covered by Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of ResMed (NYSE:RMD) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm issued an overweight rating and a $280.00 price target on the medical equipment provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on RMD. StockNews.com upgraded shares of ResMed from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 15th. KeyCorp raised their price target on ResMed from $266.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of ResMed in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup upgraded shares of ResMed from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of ResMed from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $246.83.

ResMed Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of RMD opened at $219.77 on Wednesday. ResMed has a 1-year low of $172.19 and a 1-year high of $263.05. The company has a current ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $234.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $239.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.95, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.74.

ResMed (NYSE:RMD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by $0.14. ResMed had a return on equity of 26.17% and a net margin of 25.34%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that ResMed will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

ResMed Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 13th were paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 13th. ResMed’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Michael J. Farrell sold 8,009 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.77, for a total transaction of $1,896,290.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 455,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $107,842,105.44. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Peter C. Farrell sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.71, for a total transaction of $455,420.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 75,218 shares in the company, valued at $17,127,890.78. This represents a 2.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 38,940 shares of company stock valued at $9,164,385. Company insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ResMed

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in ResMed by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 900 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $206,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of ResMed by 1.7% during the third quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 2,924 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $714,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in ResMed by 2.0% during the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,610 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $637,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital raised its stake in ResMed by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,032 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $475,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Faithward Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in ResMed by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC now owns 1,279 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $292,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. 54.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About ResMed

ResMed Inc develops, manufactures, distributes, and markets medical devices and cloud-based software applications for the healthcare markets. The company operates in two segments, Sleep and Respiratory Care, and Software as a Service. It offers various products and solutions for a range of respiratory disorders, including ApneaLink Air, a portable diagnostic device that measures oximetry, respiratory effort, pulse, nasal flow, and snoring; and NightOwl, a portable, cloud-connected, and disposable diagnostic device that measures AHI based on derived peripheral arterial tone, actigraphy, and oximetry over several nights.