70,561 Shares of Garmin Ltd. $GRMN Bought by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 70,561 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,240,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in GRMN. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Garmin by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,631,843 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $378,540,000 after acquiring an additional 40,474 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Garmin by 73.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,295,199 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $300,499,000 after purchasing an additional 549,954 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in Garmin by 82.5% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,017,314 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $236,027,000 after purchasing an additional 459,980 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in Garmin by 9.0% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 474,058 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $135,979,000 after purchasing an additional 39,077 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank boosted its position in Garmin by 7.0% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 479,800 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $111,318,000 after purchasing an additional 31,400 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.60% of the company’s stock.

Garmin Stock Performance

NYSE GRMN opened at $295.69 on Friday. Garmin Ltd. has a twelve month low of $186.67 and a twelve month high of $314.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.02 billion, a PE ratio of 30.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $284.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $263.00.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. Garmin had a return on equity of 20.95% and a net margin of 24.47%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.17 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Garmin Ltd. will post 10.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cheng-Wei Wang sold 9,941 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.36, for a total value of $2,975,937.76. Following the sale, the insider owned 29,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,832,916.16. This trade represents a 25.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sean Biddlecombe sold 986 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.88, for a total transaction of $288,779.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,763,430.48. The trade was a 14.07% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 16,108 shares of company stock valued at $4,808,799 in the last three months. 14.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on GRMN. Barclays increased their price target on Garmin from $238.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Tigress Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Garmin in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Arete Research initiated coverage on shares of Garmin in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $335.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Garmin from $249.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Garmin in a research note on Friday, September 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $313.71.

Garmin Profile

Garmin Ltd. (NYSE: GRMN) designs and manufactures GPS-enabled technology and smart devices for fitness, outdoor recreation, aviation, marine, and automotive markets. Its product portfolio includes smartwatches, cycling computers, sports and activity trackers, satellite communication devices, navigation systems, and related sensors and accessories.

The company also develops aviation systems and avionics, marine chartplotters and sonar equipment, and navigation and infotainment solutions for vehicle manufacturers.