Wedbush Securities Inc. Grows Stake in ResMed Inc. (NYSE:RMD)

Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its holdings in ResMed Inc. (NYSE:RMD) by 16.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,327 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 461 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in ResMed were worth $761,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RMD. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ResMed by 68.8% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 124,635 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $28,503,000 after acquiring an additional 50,815 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC lifted its position in ResMed by 658.8% during the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 62,305 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $14,249,000 after purchasing an additional 54,094 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in ResMed in the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,895,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake in ResMed by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 151,180 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $34,573,000 after buying an additional 3,568 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kidder Stephen W purchased a new stake in shares of ResMed during the 4th quarter valued at $203,000. Institutional investors own 54.98% of the company’s stock.

ResMed Stock Up 3.8 %

NYSE RMD opened at $213.06 on Tuesday. ResMed Inc. has a 1 year low of $172.19 and a 1 year high of $263.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.29 billion, a PE ratio of 25.15, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 3.33 and a quick ratio of 2.29. The business’s 50-day moving average is $229.90 and its 200 day moving average is $236.73.

ResMed (NYSE:RMD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.43 earnings per share 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 forecast that ResMed Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

ResMed Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 13th. ResMed’s payout ratio is currently 25.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on RMD. StockNews.com lowered shares of ResMed from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on ResMed from $270.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on ResMed in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of ResMed from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of ResMed from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $249.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ResMed news, CEO Michael J. Farrell sold 8,009 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.77, for a total value of $1,896,290.93. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 455,472 shares in the company, valued at $107,842,105.44. This trade represents a 1.73 % 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, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.74, for a total value of $439,480.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 73,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,088,923.32. The trade was a 2.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 41,004 shares of company stock worth $9,618,128. 0.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

ResMed Company Profile

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.