Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) Stock Holdings Lessened by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC reduced its position in Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN - Free Report) by 15.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 24,191 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 4,290 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC's holdings in Garmin were worth $4,990,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in GRMN. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Garmin in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Garmin during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Garmin during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Garmin by 578.6% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 190 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new position in Garmin in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.60% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Garmin news, VP Susan Lyman sold 2,829 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,817,180.32. This trade represents a 25.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Patrick Desbois sold 6,911 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.15, for a total transaction of $1,569,833.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 63,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,321,353.20. This trade represents a 9.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,342 shares of company stock worth $5,486,094. 19.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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Garmin Price Performance

NYSE GRMN traded down $1.62 on Wednesday, reaching $216.95. The company had a trading volume of 781,590 shares, compared to its average volume of 965,377. Garmin Ltd. has a 1 year low of $138.86 and a 1 year high of $246.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $217.23 and a 200-day moving average of $202.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.74 billion, a PE ratio of 29.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.96.

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

Garmin Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Garmin's payout ratio is 49.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GRMN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded Garmin to a "sell" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $164.00 to $171.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Garmin from $219.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Garmin from $265.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $210.80.

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.