Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) Shares Gap Down - Here's Why

Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $218.07, but opened at $189.24. Garmin shares last traded at $185.35, with a volume of 419,350 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Garmin from $219.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Garmin to a "sell" rating and raised their price target for the company from $164.00 to $171.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Garmin from $158.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their price target on Garmin from $265.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Three 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $210.80.

Garmin Stock Down 3.9 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $34.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $216.05 and a 200 day moving average of $203.83.

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

Garmin Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Garmin's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.25%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Clifton A. Pemble sold 7,202 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.14, for a total value of $1,635,862.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 149,525 shares in the company, valued at $33,963,108.50. This represents a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Susan Lyman sold 2,829 shares of Garmin stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.51, for a total value of $609,677.79. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,342 shares of company stock valued at $5,486,094. Insiders own 19.54% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Garmin

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in Garmin by 11.7% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 6,682 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,176,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Garmin by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 54,922 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $9,672,000 after acquiring an additional 5,890 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Garmin by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 19,564 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $3,444,000 after acquiring an additional 1,060 shares during the last quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario raised its position in shares of Garmin by 50.5% during the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 5,069 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $892,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Garmin by 1.8% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 69,565 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $12,246,000 after purchasing an additional 1,243 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.60% of the company's stock.

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.