Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on GRMN. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a strong-buy rating and set a $175.00 target price (up from $165.00) on shares of Garmin in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Barrington Research increased their target price on Garmin from $119.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Bank of America raised their price target on Garmin from $120.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Garmin from $139.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $142.33.

Garmin Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:GRMN opened at $142.51 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $141.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $127.10. The stock has a market cap of $27.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.24, a PEG ratio of 4.58 and a beta of 0.98. Garmin has a 1-year low of $94.89 and a 1-year high of $149.54.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.32. Garmin had a return on equity of 16.60% and a net margin of 24.67%. The company had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.35 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Garmin will post 5.45 EPS for the current year.

Garmin Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Garmin’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.52%.

Insider Transactions at Garmin

In related news, Director Jonathan Burrell sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.89, for a total transaction of $2,233,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 653,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,349,344.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Douglas G. Boessen sold 5,267 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total transaction of $708,727.52. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 30,360 shares in the company, valued at $4,085,241.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jonathan Burrell sold 15,000 shares of Garmin stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.89, for a total transaction of $2,233,350.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 653,834 shares in the company, valued at $97,349,344.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 99,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,166,944. 19.89% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Garmin

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Garmin during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Garmin by 169.5% during the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 283 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Garmin in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Headinvest LLC bought a new stake in Garmin in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Garmin by 35.2% during the 4th 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.