Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

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

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on GRMN. Barclays raised their target price on Garmin from $140.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Garmin from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Garmin from $175.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Bank of America lowered Garmin from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $150.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Garmin currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $156.83.

Garmin Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GRMN opened at $162.89 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $161.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $143.01. The firm has a market cap of $31.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.97, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.98. Garmin has a 52-week low of $99.61 and a 52-week high of $171.64.

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

Garmin Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Garmin’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.31%.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Garmin

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Garmin in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new position in Garmin in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Garmin in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Headinvest LLC bought a new position in Garmin in the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Garmin by 35.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 380 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. 73.41% of the stock is currently owned by 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.