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

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

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on 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 cut Garmin from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $165.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $156.83.

Garmin Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Garmin stock opened at $180.17 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $34.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.98. Garmin has a 12-month low of $99.61 and a 12-month high of $183.88. The business’s 50 day moving average is $171.90 and its 200-day moving average is $159.72.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. Garmin had a net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 17.09%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.45 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Garmin will post 6.05 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Garmin

In other Garmin news, Director Philip Straub sold 2,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.46, for a total transaction of $499,015.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 88,622 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,081,348.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Douglas G. Boessen sold 2,350 shares of Garmin stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.63, for a total value of $379,830.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,010 shares in the company, valued at $4,527,256.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Philip Straub sold 2,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.46, for a total value of $499,015.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 88,622 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,081,348.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,242 shares of company stock worth $2,676,004 in the last ninety days. 19.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Garmin

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its position in shares of Garmin by 0.5% in the second quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 14,056 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,290,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its position in shares of Garmin by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 2,309 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $344,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $469,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted 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 acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Garmin by 5.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. 73.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.