Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy”

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

GRMN has been the topic of several other research reports. Barrington Research lifted their target price on shares of Garmin from $119.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Bank of America raised their price target on Garmin from $120.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Tigress Financial reissued a strong-buy rating and set a $175.00 price objective (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Garmin in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Garmin from $139.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Garmin currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $142.33.

Garmin Price Performance

NYSE GRMN opened at $143.45 on Tuesday. Garmin has a fifty-two week low of $95.40 and a fifty-two week high of $149.54. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $142.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $127.57. The firm has a market cap of $27.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.68 and a beta of 0.98.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. Garmin had a return on equity of 16.60% and a net margin of 24.67%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.35 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Garmin will post 5.45 EPS for the current year.

Garmin Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Garmin’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Garmin

In related news, Director Jonathan Burrell sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.15, for a total value of $2,192,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 623,834 shares in the company, valued at $91,173,339.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Garmin news, CEO Clifton A. Pemble sold 1,622 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 159,319 shares in the company, valued at $21,379,016.61. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jonathan Burrell sold 15,000 shares of Garmin stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 623,834 shares in the company, valued at $91,173,339.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 99,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,166,944 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 19.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Garmin during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Garmin by 169.5% during the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 283 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Garmin in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Headinvest LLC bought a new position in shares of Garmin in the third quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Garmin by 35.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 380 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. 73.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.