Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) COO Patrick Desbois Sells 6,911 Shares

Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) COO Patrick Desbois sold 6,911 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.15, for a total transaction of $1,569,833.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 63,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,321,353.20. This trade represents a 9.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Garmin Stock Performance

NYSE:GRMN opened at $223.98 on Friday. Garmin Ltd. has a 52-week low of $134.11 and a 52-week high of $246.50. The company has a market cap of $43.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $214.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $197.16.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Garmin had a net margin of 22.42% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.72 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Garmin Ltd. will post 7.8 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 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. Garmin’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on GRMN shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded Garmin to a “sell” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $164.00 to $171.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays increased their target price on Garmin from $158.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Garmin from $265.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Garmin from $219.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $210.80.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Garmin

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Garmin during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd lifted its holdings in Garmin by 864.3% during the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 135 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new position in Garmin during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Garmin in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Garmin by 578.6% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 190 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.60% 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.