Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) Sets New 52-Week High at $149.54

Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $149.54 and last traded at $149.06, with a volume of 140022 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $147.98.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on GRMN shares. Tigress Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $175.00 price objective (up from $165.00) on shares of Garmin in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Barrington Research boosted their price target on shares of Garmin from $119.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Garmin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Garmin from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $135.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.50.

Garmin Stock Up 0.6 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $28.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.05, a PEG ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $133.09 and a 200-day moving average of $121.70.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. Garmin had a return on equity of 16.60% and a net margin of 24.67%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.35 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Garmin Ltd. will post 5.43 EPS for the current year.

Garmin Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Garmin’s payout ratio is currently 43.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Clifton A. Pemble sold 1,622 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 159,319 shares in the company, valued at $21,379,016.61. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Susan Lyman sold 2,587 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.18, for a total transaction of $349,710.66. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 7,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $969,781.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 159,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,379,016.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 99,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,166,944 over the last 90 days. 19.89% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Garmin

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Garmin by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,168 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $279,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust raised its holdings in Garmin by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,518 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $452,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Garmin by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 7,189 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $924,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Garmin by 35.2% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 380 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wetherby Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Garmin by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,909 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $294,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.