Prudential PLC Sells 7,108 Shares of Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN)

Prudential PLC lessened its position in shares of Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN - Free Report) by 35.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,815 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 7,108 shares during the period. Prudential PLC's holdings in Garmin were worth $2,643,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Garmin during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new stake in Garmin in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new position in shares of Garmin during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Garmin during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Garmin by 67.7% during the 4th 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.60% of the company's stock.

Garmin Stock Performance

NYSE:GRMN traded up $0.24 on Friday, hitting $187.07. The stock had a trading volume of 185,218 shares, compared to its average volume of 881,567. Garmin Ltd. has a 1 year low of $138.86 and a 1 year high of $246.50. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $212.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $204.05. The stock has a market cap of $35.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.92.

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Garmin (NYSE:GRMN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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%. Garmin's quarterly revenue was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.72 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Garmin Ltd. will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

Garmin Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Garmin's payout ratio is 49.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. 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. Barclays boosted their target price 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. lifted their price target on Garmin from $219.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Garmin to a "sell" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $164.00 to $171.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Garmin has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $210.80.

Insider Activity

In other Garmin news, 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 63,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,321,353.20. This represents a 9.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Clifton A. Pemble sold 7,202 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,342 shares of company stock valued at $5,486,094 in the last three months. Company insiders own 19.54% of the company's stock.

Garmin 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.