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 report published on Wednesday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Garmin from $175.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Garmin from $140.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Garmin from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Barrington Research lifted their price target on shares of Garmin from $119.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Garmin from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $156.83.

Garmin Price Performance

Shares of GRMN opened at $160.72 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $158.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $141.33. The company has a market capitalization of $30.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.98. Garmin has a 1-year low of $99.61 and a 1-year high of $171.64.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $1.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.25 billion. Garmin had a net margin of 24.96% and a return on equity of 17.26%. Garmin’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.02 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Garmin will post 5.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Garmin Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Garmin’s dividend payout ratio is 42.31%.

Insider Transactions at Garmin

In other news, CFO Douglas G. Boessen sold 2,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.63, for a total value of $379,830.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 28,010 shares in the company, valued at $4,527,256.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Patrick Desbois sold 4,126 shares of Garmin stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.52, for a total value of $674,683.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 58,412 shares in the company, valued at $9,551,530.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Douglas G. Boessen sold 2,350 shares of Garmin stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.63, for a total transaction of $379,830.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,527,256.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 19.54% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Garmin

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its position in Garmin by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 7,310,112 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $939,642,000 after buying an additional 63,278 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Garmin by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,715,703 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $220,541,000 after buying an additional 45,242 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Garmin by 7.1% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,630,148 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $171,492,000 after buying an additional 108,427 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted its position in Garmin by 4.3% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,416,130 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $210,799,000 after buying an additional 58,343 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Garmin by 10.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,411,205 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $148,459,000 after buying an additional 136,929 shares during the period. 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.