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

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday.

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

Garmin Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE GRMN opened at $178.50 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $34.28 billion, a PE ratio of 25.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.98. Garmin has a 12 month low of $99.61 and a 12 month high of $179.76. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $167.24 and its 200 day moving average is $154.83.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.18. Garmin had a net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 17.09%. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.45 EPS. Garmin’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Garmin will post 6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Patrick Desbois sold 4,126 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.52, for a total transaction of $674,683.52. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,551,530.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Douglas G. Boessen sold 2,350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 at this link. Also, EVP Patrick Desbois sold 4,126 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 58,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,551,530.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 19.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Garmin

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its position in Garmin by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 14,056 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,290,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its holdings in Garmin by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 2,309 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Garmin by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,879 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $469,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its position in shares of Garmin by 17.6% during the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 542 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Garmin by 5.8% during the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,522 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.41% 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.