Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) Downgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on GRMN. Tigress Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective (up from $165.00) on shares of Garmin in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Garmin from $120.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Garmin from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Barrington Research boosted their target price on shares of Garmin from $119.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Barclays raised 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $153.50.

Garmin Trading Up 1.3 %

GRMN opened at $169.98 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $146.59 and a 200 day moving average of $130.52. Garmin has a 12 month low of $99.61 and a 12 month high of $170.87. The firm has a market cap of $32.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.97, a P/E/G ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 0.99.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.42. Garmin had a return on equity of 17.26% and a net margin of 24.96%. The firm had revenue of $1.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.02 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Garmin will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Garmin

In other news, Director Jonathan Burrell sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $2,100,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 758,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $106,236,760. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Garmin news, CEO Clifton A. Pemble sold 1,622 shares of the 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 directly owns 159,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,379,016.61. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jonathan Burrell sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $2,100,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 758,834 shares in the company, valued at $106,236,760. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 99,476 shares of company stock worth $14,166,944 over the last three months. 19.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Garmin

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Inspire Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Garmin by 26.9% during the 1st quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 6,434 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $958,000 after purchasing an additional 1,363 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Garmin by 17.7% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 193,731 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $28,841,000 after buying an additional 29,160 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Garmin in the first quarter worth about $10,685,000. Forsta AP Fonden grew its stake in shares of Garmin by 9.8% during the first quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 27,000 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $4,019,000 after acquiring an additional 2,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Garmin by 24.1% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 97,698 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $14,544,000 after acquiring an additional 18,956 shares in the last quarter. 73.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.