Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Garmin from $175.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Garmin from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Garmin from $140.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Garmin from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and cut their price target for the company from $165.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Garmin presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $156.83.

Garmin Stock Performance

Shares of Garmin stock opened at $172.06 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $33.05 billion, a PE ratio of 24.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.98. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $166.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $153.65. Garmin has a 52-week low of $99.61 and a 52-week high of $179.76.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.18. Garmin had a net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 17.09%. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.45 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Garmin will post 6 EPS for the current year.

Garmin Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. Garmin’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.31%.

Insider Transactions at Garmin

In other news, CFO Douglas G. Boessen sold 2,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.63, for a total value of $379,830.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 28,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,527,256.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Douglas G. Boessen sold 2,350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.63, for a total value of $379,830.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,527,256.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick Desbois sold 4,126 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.52, for a total transaction of $674,683.52. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,412 shares in the company, valued at $9,551,530.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 19.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Garmin

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Clearstead Trust LLC acquired a new position in Garmin in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Garmin during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in Garmin in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in shares of Garmin by 73.3% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 234 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Garmin during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. 73.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.