Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after Tigress Financial raised their price target on the stock from $175.00 to $210.00. Tigress Financial currently has a strong-buy rating on the stock. Garmin traded as high as $171.10 and last traded at $170.81, with a volume of 82031 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $169.91.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. 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 report on Thursday, May 2nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Garmin from $140.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Barrington Research lifted their price objective on shares of Garmin from $119.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Garmin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Garmin from $120.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Garmin presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $159.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Garmin news, CEO Clifton A. Pemble sold 1,622 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.19, for a total value of $217,656.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 159,319 shares in the company, valued at $21,379,016.61. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Garmin news, Director Jonathan Burrell sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.89, for a total value of $2,233,350.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 653,834 shares in the company, valued at $97,349,344.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Clifton A. Pemble sold 1,622 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 159,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,379,016.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 99,476 shares of company stock worth $14,166,944 in the last 90 days. 19.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Garmin

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GRMN. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Garmin in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new position in shares of Garmin in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Garmin during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Headinvest LLC purchased a new stake in Garmin in the third quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Garmin by 35.2% in the fourth 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.41% of the company’s stock.

Garmin Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $32.76 billion, a PE ratio of 24.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.42 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $149.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $132.93.

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

Garmin Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Garmin’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.18%.

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.