Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Reduce" by Brokerages

Shares of Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Reduce" from the five analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $210.80.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Susan Lyman sold 2,829 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 $1,817,180.32. This trade represents a 25.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Douglas G. Boessen sold 2,763 shares of Garmin stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.55, for a total value of $625,957.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 30,936 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,008,550.80. The trade was a 8.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,342 shares of company stock valued at $5,486,094. 19.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Remove Ads

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Garmin

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GRMN. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Garmin in the fourth quarter valued at $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 in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. purchased a new stake in Garmin during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Garmin during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Garmin in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. 81.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Garmin Stock Performance

Shares of GRMN stock traded up $0.24 on Friday, reaching $192.34. 579,358 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 884,169. Garmin has a 1 year low of $138.86 and a 1 year high of $246.50. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $211.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $204.49. The company has a market cap of $37.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.92.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Garmin had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 22.42%. The firm's revenue was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.72 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Garmin will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Garmin Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Garmin's dividend payout ratio is presently 49.25%.

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.