Howard Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in ResMed Inc. (NYSE:RMD)

Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in ResMed Inc. (NYSE:RMD) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 900 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in ResMed were worth $206,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in RMD. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in ResMed by 285.1% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 593 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $136,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares in the last quarter. Olympiad Research LP bought a new position in ResMed in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $328,000. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in ResMed in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $335,000. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI bought a new position in ResMed in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $114,000. Finally, Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in ResMed by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 501,747 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $114,745,000 after acquiring an additional 5,087 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on RMD. UBS Group raised ResMed from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on ResMed from $270.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp increased 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 reissued a “hold” rating on shares of ResMed in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on ResMed in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $244.73.

ResMed Price Performance

Shares of ResMed stock opened at $235.73 on Wednesday. ResMed Inc. has a one year low of $170.56 and a one year high of $263.05. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $237.06 and its 200 day moving average is $239.66. The stock has a market cap of $34.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 3.33.

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

ResMed Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. ResMed’s payout ratio is presently 25.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ResMed news, CEO Michael J. Farrell sold 8,009 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was 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 owns 455,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $107,842,105.44. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Peter C. Farrell sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.11, for a total value 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. The trade was a 2.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,147 shares of company stock worth $2,905,745. Corporate insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

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.