Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Thursday morning.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on GRMN. Barrington Research lifted their price target on shares of Garmin from $119.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Garmin from $140.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday. Tigress Financial reiterated a strong-buy rating and issued a $175.00 price target (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Garmin in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Garmin from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Garmin from $120.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Garmin presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $153.50.

Garmin Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GRMN traded up $0.64 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $165.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 973,141 shares, compared to its average volume of 983,928. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $145.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $129.28. Garmin has a 1 year low of $99.56 and a 1 year high of $166.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.42 and a beta of 0.99.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.42. Garmin had a net margin of 24.96% and a return on equity of 17.26%. The business had revenue of $1.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.02 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Garmin will post 5.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Garmin Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Garmin’s payout ratio is 41.18%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Clifton A. Pemble sold 1,622 shares of Garmin stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.19, for a total value of $217,656.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 159,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,379,016.61. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Garmin news, Director Jonathan Burrell sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.15, for a total value of $2,192,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 623,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $91,173,339.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Clifton A. Pemble sold 1,622 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.19, for a total transaction of $217,656.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 159,319 shares in the company, valued at $21,379,016.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 99,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,166,944 in the last ninety days. 19.89% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Garmin

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GRMN. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in Garmin by 125.4% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 23,999 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,525,000 after buying an additional 13,350 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. increased its stake in Garmin by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 21,290 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,240,000 after buying an additional 546 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management increased its stake in Garmin by 20.3% in the 3rd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 8,965 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $943,000 after buying an additional 1,510 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its stake in shares of Garmin by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,207 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Finally, Segment Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Garmin by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 101,188 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $10,645,000 after purchasing an additional 2,690 shares during the period. 73.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Garmin Company Profile

Garmin Ltd. designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes a range of wireless devices worldwide. Its Fitness segment offers running and multi-sport watches; cycling products; smartwatch devices; scales and monitors; and fitness accessories. This segment also provides Garmin Connect and Garmin Connect Mobile, which are web and mobile platforms where users can track and analyze their fitness, activities and workouts, and wellness data; and Connect IQ, an application development platform.