Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Tuesday.

GRMN has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Garmin from $139.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Barrington Research increased their price objective on Garmin from $119.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Garmin from $120.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Tigress Financial reaffirmed a strong-buy rating and set a $175.00 price target (up from $165.00) on shares of Garmin in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $142.33.

Garmin Price Performance

GRMN stock opened at $143.45 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $27.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.68 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $142.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $127.57. Garmin has a one year low of $95.40 and a one year high of $149.54.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. Garmin had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 16.60%. Garmin’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.35 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Garmin will post 5.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Garmin Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Garmin’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Susan Lyman sold 2,587 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.18, for a total value of $349,710.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $969,781.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Jonathan Burrell sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.15, for a total value of $2,192,250.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 623,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $91,173,339.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Susan Lyman sold 2,587 shares of Garmin stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.18, for a total value of $349,710.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $969,781.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 99,476 shares of company stock worth $14,166,944. Company insiders own 19.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Garmin

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Garmin in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Garmin in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Garmin by 169.5% in the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 283 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Garmin by 35.2% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 380 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Garmin during the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. 73.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.