Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) Rating Lowered to Underperform at Bank of America

Bank of America downgraded shares of Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) from a neutral rating to an underperform rating in a research report report published on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. Bank of America currently has $150.00 target price on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, down from their previous target price of $165.00.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on GRMN. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Garmin from $175.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Garmin from $140.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Garmin from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Garmin from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Barrington Research upped their target price on Garmin from $119.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Garmin currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $156.83.

Garmin Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE GRMN opened at $163.81 on Wednesday. Garmin has a 52 week low of $99.61 and a 52 week high of $171.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $153.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $135.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.46 billion, a PE ratio of 23.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.99.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $1.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.25 billion. Garmin had a return on equity of 17.26% and a net margin of 24.96%. Garmin’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.02 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Garmin will post 5.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Garmin

In other Garmin news, CEO Clifton A. Pemble sold 1,622 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.19, for a total transaction of $217,656.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 159,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,379,016.61. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Susan Lyman sold 2,587 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.18, for a total transaction of $349,710.66. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,174 shares in the company, valued at $969,781.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Clifton A. Pemble sold 1,622 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.19, for a total transaction of $217,656.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 159,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,379,016.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 99,476 shares of company stock worth $14,166,944. Company insiders own 19.54% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Garmin

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of GRMN. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its holdings in Garmin by 3.3% during the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 2,309 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $344,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its holdings in shares of Garmin by 17.6% in the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 542 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Garmin by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,168 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust boosted its holdings in Garmin by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,518 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $452,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Insight Folios Inc grew its position in Garmin by 3.5% during the first quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 2,768 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $412,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. 73.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.