Natixis Investment Managers International Cuts Stock Position in Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN)

Natixis Investment Managers International lessened its position in shares of Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) by 28.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 682 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 274 shares during the period. Natixis Investment Managers International’s holdings in Garmin were worth $102,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GRMN. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Garmin during the 4th quarter valued at $54,460,000. M&G Plc purchased a new position in shares of Garmin during the 1st quarter valued at $38,727,000. SW Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Garmin during the 4th quarter valued at $28,279,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Garmin by 28.4% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 862,527 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $110,869,000 after purchasing an additional 190,739 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its stake in shares of Garmin by 153.8% during the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 291,918 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $37,737,000 after purchasing an additional 176,908 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.41% of the company’s stock.

Garmin Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:GRMN traded up $0.55 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $173.39. 560,635 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 845,965. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.30 billion, a PE ratio of 24.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.98. The business’s 50 day moving average is $164.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $148.36. Garmin Ltd. has a one year low of $99.61 and a one year high of $175.24.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.42. Garmin had a net margin of 24.96% and a return on equity of 17.26%. The company had revenue of $1.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.02 earnings per share. Garmin’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Garmin Ltd. will post 5.77 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 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. Garmin’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.31%.

Insider Transactions at Garmin

In related news, CFO Douglas G. Boessen sold 2,350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.63, for a total transaction of $379,830.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 28,010 shares in the company, valued at $4,527,256.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Patrick Desbois sold 4,126 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.52, for a total transaction of $674,683.52. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 58,412 shares in the company, valued at $9,551,530.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Douglas G. Boessen sold 2,350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.63, for a total transaction of $379,830.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 28,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,527,256.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 19.54% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on GRMN shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Garmin from $140.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Garmin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Garmin from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Bank of America downgraded shares of Garmin from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $150.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Garmin from $175.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $156.83.

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.