First Trust Advisors LP Boosts Stake in ResMed Inc. (NYSE:RMD)

First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in ResMed Inc. (NYSE:RMD - Free Report) by 150.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 191,294 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 114,865 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.13% of ResMed worth $43,747,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in ResMed during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in ResMed during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton purchased a new stake in shares of ResMed in the fourth quarter worth approximately $54,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in ResMed during the fourth quarter worth $67,000. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in ResMed during the 4th quarter worth $82,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at ResMed

In related news, insider Kaushik Ghoshal sold 9,113 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.40, for a total transaction of $2,145,200.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,725 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,289,265. This trade represents a 48.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Peter C. Farrell sold 2,000 shares of ResMed stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.11, for a total transaction of $484,220.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 77,218 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,695,249.98. This represents a 2.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,013 shares of company stock valued at $11,298,816 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.71% of the company's stock.

ResMed Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of ResMed stock traded up $1.33 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $235.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 154,665 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,014,403. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 3.33. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $221.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $233.96. ResMed Inc. has a 52 week low of $179.42 and a 52 week high of $263.05. The company has a market capitalization of $34.58 billion, a PE ratio of 27.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.75.

ResMed (NYSE:RMD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The medical equipment provider reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. ResMed had a return on equity of 26.17% and a net margin of 25.34%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that ResMed Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

ResMed Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. ResMed's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of ResMed from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on ResMed from $247.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. KeyCorp set a $274.00 price target on ResMed in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on ResMed in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Mizuho set a $265.00 price target on shares of ResMed in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $258.83.

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.