24,066 Garmin Ltd. $GRMN Shares Bought by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) by 744.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,300 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,066 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Garmin were worth $7,831,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Command Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in Garmin by 310.3% during the third quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 796 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 602 shares during the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new stake in Garmin during the third quarter worth approximately $1,197,000. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Garmin by 0.4% during the third quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 7,814 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,241,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank boosted its holdings in Garmin by 31.5% during the third quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 1,295 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $371,000 after buying an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keybank National Association OH grew its position in Garmin by 18.5% in the third quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 3,369 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $966,000 after buying an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.60% of the company’s stock.

Garmin Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of GRMN stock opened at $293.85 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $56.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.90. Garmin Ltd. has a 1-year low of $186.67 and a 1-year high of $314.28. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $282.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $256.70.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.38. Garmin had a return on equity of 21.94% and a net margin of 25.58%. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.99 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Garmin Ltd. will post 10.77 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on GRMN. UBS Group set a $370.00 price target on Garmin in a report on Thursday, August 6th. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Garmin in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Arete Research started coverage on Garmin in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $335.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Garmin from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Garmin from $289.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Garmin currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $315.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cheng-Wei Wang sold 9,941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.36, for a total value of $2,975,937.76. Following the transaction, the insider owned 29,506 shares in the company, valued at $8,832,916.16. This represents a 25.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 14.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Garmin Profile

Garmin Ltd. develops, manufactures and markets navigation, communication and information devices and applications. Its products include GPS-enabled watches and fitness trackers, handheld outdoor navigation devices, marine electronics, aviation systems and automotive navigation technology. Founded in 1989 by Gary Burrell and Min Kao, Garmin serves consumers and businesses around the world. Its products are used in activities ranging from fitness and outdoor recreation to boating, aviation and transportation.