Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” from Analysts

Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) has earned an average rating of “Reduce” from the five analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $210.80.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Garmin from $265.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. 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. Barclays raised their price objective on Garmin from $158.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Garmin to a “sell” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $164.00 to $171.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th.

Garmin Stock Down 0.7 %

Garmin stock opened at $212.43 on Tuesday. Garmin has a 52 week low of $138.86 and a 52 week high of $246.50. The firm has a market cap of $40.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.96. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $217.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $201.06.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.72 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Garmin will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

Garmin Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Garmin’s payout ratio is currently 41.04%.

Insider Transactions at Garmin

In other Garmin news, VP Susan Lyman sold 2,829 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.51, for a total value of $609,677.79. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 8,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,817,180.32. This represents a 25.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Clifton A. Pemble sold 7,202 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 149,525 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 have sold 26,103 shares of company stock valued at $5,852,364 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 19.54% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Garmin

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Garmin in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd increased its position in Garmin by 864.3% during the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 135 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. purchased a new position in Garmin during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Garmin in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.60% of the company’s stock.

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.