Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) has received an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the five analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $210.80.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Garmin from $158.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Garmin from $265.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Garmin to a “sell” rating and upped their price target for the company from $164.00 to $171.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Garmin from $219.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Garmin

In other news, VP Susan Lyman sold 2,829 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.51, for a total transaction of $609,677.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,817,180.32. The trade was a 25.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Clifton A. Pemble sold 7,202 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.14, for a total transaction of $1,635,862.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 149,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,963,108.50. The trade was a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,342 shares of company stock worth $5,486,094 over the last three months. Company insiders own 19.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GRMN. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Garmin during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd raised its stake in Garmin by 864.3% in the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 135 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new position in shares of Garmin during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new stake in Garmin during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Garmin during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Institutional investors own 81.60% of the company’s stock.

Garmin Stock Down 1.6 %

Garmin stock opened at $189.26 on Friday. Garmin has a 12 month low of $138.86 and a 12 month high of $246.50. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $209.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $204.31. The stock has a market cap of $36.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.92.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.51. Garmin had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 22.42%. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.72 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Garmin will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Garmin Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Garmin’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.25%.

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.