ResMed Inc. (NYSE:RMD) Short Interest Up 17.2% in February

ResMed Inc. (NYSE:RMD) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 11,837,993 shares, a growth of 17.2% from the February 12th total of 10,098,338 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 965,467 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 12.3 days. Currently, 8.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Currently, 8.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 965,467 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 12.3 days.

ResMed Price Performance

NYSE:RMD opened at $233.60 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.32 and a current ratio of 3.06. The company has a 50-day moving average of $254.45 and a 200-day moving average of $257.60. ResMed has a 52 week low of $199.92 and a 52 week high of $293.81. The company has a market capitalization of $34.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.11, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.88.

ResMed (NYSE:RMD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.40 billion. ResMed had a net margin of 27.53% and a return on equity of 25.20%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.43 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that ResMed will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ResMed Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 12th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 12th. ResMed’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on RMD shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of ResMed from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $302.00 target price on shares of ResMed in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup boosted their price target on ResMed from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on ResMed from $311.00 to $314.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded ResMed from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $299.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at ResMed

In other ResMed news, CEO Michael J. Farrell sold 4,991 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.03, for a total value of $1,252,890.73. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 466,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $117,035,959.69. This represents a 1.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Peter C. Farrell sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.22, for a total transaction of $520,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 62,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,334,790.06. This trade represents a 3.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,073 shares of company stock worth $5,405,198. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ResMed

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in ResMed by 1.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,040,440 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,211,940,000 after acquiring an additional 293,515 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of ResMed by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,625,408 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,595,862,000 after acquiring an additional 76,244 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of ResMed by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,890,654 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,178,012,000 after acquiring an additional 337,738 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of ResMed by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,302,906 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,032,877,000 after purchasing an additional 51,218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of ResMed by 25.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,891,697 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $696,523,000 after purchasing an additional 578,559 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.98% of the company’s stock.

ResMed Company Profile

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.