Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) Position Trimmed by GHP Investment Advisors Inc.

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. decreased its position in shares of Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 63,078 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 1,304 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Garmin were worth $13,696,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd lifted its holdings in Garmin by 864.3% in the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 135 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Garmin in the first quarter worth $40,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Garmin by 67.7% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 208 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in shares of Garmin during the 4th quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new position in Garmin in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.60% of the company’s stock.

Garmin Price Performance

NYSE GRMN opened at $201.86 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $198.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $207.25. Garmin Ltd. has a 52-week low of $158.90 and a 52-week high of $246.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.98.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. Garmin had a return on equity of 19.21% and a net margin of 22.76%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.42 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Garmin Ltd. will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Garmin Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Garmin’s payout ratio is 47.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Garmin from $159.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays dropped their price objective on Garmin from $188.00 to $152.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Garmin from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Garmin from $265.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $206.00.

Insider Activity at Garmin

In related news, CEO Clifton A. Pemble sold 7,899 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.25, for a total value of $1,605,471.75. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 141,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,785,484.50. The trade was a 5.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 19.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Garmin

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.