Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

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

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

Garmin Stock Up 0.0 %

GRMN stock traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $166.02. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 163,027 shares, compared to its average volume of 953,597. Garmin has a 52 week low of $99.61 and a 52 week high of $167.70. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $145.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $129.61. The stock has a market cap of $31.89 billion, a PE ratio of 23.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 0.99.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.42. Garmin had a return on equity of 17.26% and a net margin of 24.96%. The company had revenue of $1.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.25 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.02 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Garmin will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Garmin Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Garmin

In related news, VP Susan Lyman sold 2,587 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.18, for a total value of $349,710.66. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $969,781.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Susan Lyman sold 2,587 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.18, for a total value of $349,710.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $969,781.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Clifton A. Pemble sold 1,622 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.19, for a total transaction of $217,656.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 159,319 shares of the company’s stock, 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 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 19.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Garmin by 213.5% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 41,557 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $5,342,000 after buying an additional 28,301 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Wealth Services purchased a new stake in Garmin in the fourth quarter valued at $2,365,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Garmin by 42.7% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 125,389 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $13,191,000 after purchasing an additional 37,532 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Garmin in the fourth quarter worth approximately $8,691,000. Finally, SteelPeak Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Garmin by 369.6% during the 4th quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 14,087 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,811,000 after buying an additional 11,087 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.41% of the company’s stock.

About Garmin

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.