Knowledge Leaders Capital LLC Lowers Stock Position in Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN)

Knowledge Leaders Capital LLC lessened its stake in shares of Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,432 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 368 shares during the quarter. Garmin accounts for about 2.3% of Knowledge Leaders Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Knowledge Leaders Capital LLC’s holdings in Garmin were worth $1,469,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Garmin in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Garmin by 169.5% in the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 283 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. Headinvest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Garmin in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Garmin by 35.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 380 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Garmin in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.41% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Clifton A. Pemble sold 1,622 shares of Garmin stock in a transaction on 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 owns 159,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,379,016.61. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, VP Susan Lyman sold 2,587 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 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 directly owns 159,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,379,016.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 99,476 shares of company stock worth $14,166,944. Corporate insiders own 19.89% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on GRMN shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Garmin from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Garmin from $120.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Garmin from $139.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $175.00 target price (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Garmin in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Barrington Research raised their price objective 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $142.33.

Garmin Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:GRMN traded up $0.42 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $143.45. The stock had a trading volume of 625,349 shares, compared to its average volume of 770,905. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $142.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $127.57. Garmin Ltd. has a 12-month low of $95.40 and a 12-month high of $149.54. The stock has a market cap of $27.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.38, a P/E/G ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 0.98.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 16.60%. The business’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.35 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Garmin Ltd. will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Garmin Announces Dividend

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

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.