Legal & General Group Plc Increases Stock Holdings in ResMed Inc. $RMD

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in ResMed by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, buying an additional 34,317 shares and bringing its total holding to 992,527 shares worth about $239.1 million.
• ResMed’s most recent earnings topped expectations, with quarterly EPS of $2.86 versus the $2.79 estimate and revenue of $1.43 billion, up 10.8% year over year.
• Analysts remain moderately bullish overall, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $286.18, even as some firms recently trimmed targets and adjusted ratings.

Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in ResMed Inc. (NYSE:RMD - Free Report) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 992,527 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 34,317 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.68% of ResMed worth $239,070,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of RMD. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in ResMed by 52.6% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,882 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $645,000 after acquiring an additional 994 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in ResMed during the 2nd quarter valued at $389,000. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in ResMed by 17.8% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,586 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $409,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in ResMed during the 2nd quarter valued at $206,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in ResMed by 24.2% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 286,078 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $73,808,000 after acquiring an additional 55,790 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.98% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michael J. Farrell sold 4,991 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.82, for a total transaction of $1,037,229.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 466,223 shares in the company, valued at $96,890,463.86. This represents a 1.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Peter C. Farrell sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $450,000.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 18,973 shares of company stock valued at $4,386,031 over the last 90 days. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RMD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on ResMed from $314.00 to $321.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on ResMed from $345.00 to $340.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on ResMed from $270.00 to $227.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut ResMed from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on ResMed from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $286.18.

ResMed Stock Performance

Shares of RMD stock opened at $206.24 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $29.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.89, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.84. The company's 50 day moving average is $218.28 and its 200 day moving average is $240.03. The company has a quick ratio of 2.33, a current ratio of 3.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. ResMed Inc. has a 52-week low of $198.61 and a 52-week high of $293.81.

ResMed (NYSE:RMD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.79 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. ResMed had a net margin of 27.44% and a return on equity of 25.35%. ResMed's revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.37 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that ResMed Inc. will post 11.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ResMed Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. ResMed's dividend payout ratio is 23.14%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding RMD? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for ResMed Inc. (NYSE:RMD - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.