Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Wednesday.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on GRMN. Barrington Research upped their price objective on shares of Garmin from $119.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price objective 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 reiterated a strong-buy rating and set a $175.00 target price (up from $165.00) on shares of Garmin in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Barclays raised their price target on Garmin from $140.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Garmin from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Six 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 has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $153.50.

Garmin Price Performance

GRMN stock opened at $169.96 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $147.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $130.80. Garmin has a 12 month low of $99.61 and a 12 month high of $170.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.65 billion, a PE ratio of 23.97, a P/E/G ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 0.99.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.42 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 firm had revenue of $1.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.02 EPS. Garmin’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Garmin will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Garmin Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Garmin’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.31%.

Insider Activity 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 shares were sold at an average price of $146.15, for a total transaction of $2,192,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 623,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $91,173,339.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Jonathan Burrell sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.15, for a total transaction of $2,192,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 623,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $91,173,339.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Clifton A. Pemble sold 1,622 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.19, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 99,476 shares of company stock worth $14,166,944. Company insiders own 19.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Garmin

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GRMN. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Garmin in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Garmin in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Headinvest LLC bought a new position in shares of Garmin during the third quarter worth about $41,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Garmin by 35.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 380 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Garmin in the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.41% 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.