Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) Shares Bought by Wedbush Securities Inc.

Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) by 14.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,699 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 833 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Garmin were worth $1,382,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Garmin in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Garmin in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Garmin during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in Garmin in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Garmin by 67.7% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 208 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.60% of the company’s stock.

Garmin Price Performance

NYSE:GRMN opened at $178.18 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $216.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $204.07. Garmin Ltd. has a 1-year low of $138.86 and a 1-year high of $246.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.37, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.96.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Garmin had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 22.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.72 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Garmin Ltd. will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Garmin Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. 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 research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Garmin to a “sell” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $164.00 to $171.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Garmin from $219.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Barclays boosted their target price on 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $210.80.

Insider Activity at Garmin

In other Garmin news, CFO Douglas G. Boessen sold 2,763 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.55, for a total value of $625,957.65. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 30,936 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,008,550.80. The trade was a 8.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 149,525 shares in the company, valued at $33,963,108.50. This trade represents a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 24,342 shares of company stock worth $5,486,094. Company insiders own 19.54% 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.