Benjamin Edwards Inc. Lowers Stake in ResMed Inc. (NYSE:RMD)

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. has reduced its position in ResMed Inc. (NYSE:RMD) by 8.2%, selling 2,883 shares, leaving it with 32,400 shares valued at approximately $7.25 million.
• Equity analysts have mixed views on ResMed, with ratings ranging from a strong buy to a sell, and a consensus price target of $274.83.
• ResMed recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.60 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $2.40 and a yield of 0.8%.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lowered its position in ResMed Inc. (NYSE:RMD - Free Report) by 8.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 32,400 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 2,883 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in ResMed were worth $7,253,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in ResMed by 68.8% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 124,635 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $28,503,000 after purchasing an additional 50,815 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in ResMed by 47.3% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,137 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in ResMed by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 16,589 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $3,886,000 after purchasing an additional 2,903 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in ResMed by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 18,135 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $4,147,000 after purchasing an additional 856 shares during the period. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. increased its holdings in ResMed by 37.7% during the 4th quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 10,564 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $2,416,000 after purchasing an additional 2,890 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 54.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RMD has been the topic of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on ResMed from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of ResMed from $294.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of ResMed from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of ResMed from $274.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of ResMed from $285.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $274.83.

Insider Activity at ResMed

In related news, Director Peter C. Farrell sold 945 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.49, for a total transaction of $241,438.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 68,273 shares in the company, valued at $17,443,068.77. The trade was a 1.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael J. Farrell sold 8,009 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.48, for a total transaction of $2,238,355.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 455,503 shares of the company's stock, valued at $127,303,978.44. This represents a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,063 shares of company stock worth $7,058,835 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.71% of the company's stock.

ResMed Stock Performance

Shares of RMD traded up $1.37 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $285.69. 34,439 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 996,207. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 2.53, a current ratio of 3.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. ResMed Inc. has a 12-month low of $199.92 and a 12-month high of $293.08. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $261.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $242.01.

ResMed (NYSE:RMD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The medical equipment provider reported $2.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. ResMed had a net margin of 27.22% and a return on equity of 25.62%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.08 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that ResMed Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ResMed Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This is a boost from ResMed's previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. ResMed's payout ratio is presently 22.29%.

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.