Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on GRMN. Barrington Research boosted 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 upped their price target on shares of Garmin from $120.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Garmin from $139.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Tigress Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $175.00 target price (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Garmin in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $142.33.

Garmin Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of GRMN opened at $140.63 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $140.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $126.02. Garmin has a 1-year low of $94.89 and a 1-year high of $149.54. The company has a market cap of $26.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.96, a PEG ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 0.98.

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

Insider Activity at Garmin

In other Garmin news, Director Jonathan Burrell sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.15, for a total value 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Garmin news, VP Susan Lyman sold 2,587 shares of Garmin stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.18, for a total value of $349,710.66. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,174 shares in the company, valued at $969,781.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jonathan Burrell sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 623,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $91,173,339.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 99,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,166,944 over the last quarter. 19.89% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Garmin

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GRMN. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Garmin by 213.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 41,557 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $5,342,000 after buying an additional 28,301 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Garmin by 42.7% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 125,389 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $13,191,000 after purchasing an additional 37,532 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Garmin in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,691,000. SteelPeak Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Garmin by 369.6% during the fourth quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 14,087 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,811,000 after purchasing an additional 11,087 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services bought a new stake in shares of Garmin during the fourth quarter worth about $2,365,000. 73.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.