Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) Shares Purchased by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) by 53.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,396 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,141 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Garmin were worth $5,443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Garmin in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd grew its stake in Garmin by 864.3% in the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 135 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. acquired a new position in Garmin in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new position in Garmin in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new position in Garmin in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on GRMN. Barclays decreased their target price on Garmin from $188.00 to $152.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Garmin from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Garmin from $159.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Garmin from $265.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Garmin has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $194.80.

Garmin Stock Up 0.8%

Garmin stock opened at $202.25 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $198.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $208.23. Garmin Ltd. has a 12 month low of $158.38 and a 12 month high of $246.50. The stock has a market cap of $38.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.99.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. Garmin had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 22.42%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.42 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Garmin Ltd. will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Garmin Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Garmin’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Garmin news, VP Susan Lyman sold 2,829 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.51, for a total transaction of $609,677.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,817,180.32. The trade was a 25.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Douglas G. Boessen sold 2,763 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.55, for a total transaction of $625,957.65. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 30,936 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,008,550.80. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 24,342 shares of company stock worth $5,486,094. Corporate insiders own 15.38% of the company’s stock.

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.