Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Shares of Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) have received an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the six brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $171.00.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Garmin from $133.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Garmin from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $155.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Garmin from $215.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Garmin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th.

Garmin Price Performance

Shares of GRMN opened at $207.51 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $208.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $183.99. Garmin has a 1 year low of $119.15 and a 1 year high of $222.97. The firm has a market cap of $39.85 billion, a PE ratio of 26.33, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.98.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.53. The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. Garmin had a net margin of 25.48% and a return on equity of 17.99%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Garmin will post 7.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Garmin

In other Garmin news, CFO Douglas G. Boessen sold 1,761 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.99, for a total transaction of $366,270.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,743,019.88. This trade represents a 6.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sean Biddlecombe sold 587 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.10, for a total transaction of $123,328.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,291,484.70. The trade was a 8.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 19.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Garmin

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. boosted its stake in shares of Garmin by 0.9% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 6,686 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,177,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its position in 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 valued at $2,290,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Garmin by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,715 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,062,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC lifted 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 worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in Garmin by 2.0% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 4,314 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $759,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.60% of the company’s stock.

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.