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

Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) COO Patrick Desbois sold 6,911 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 63,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,321,353.20. This represents a 9.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Garmin Stock Up 2.2 %

Garmin stock opened at $228.88 on Friday. Garmin Ltd. has a 52-week low of $136.25 and a 52-week high of $246.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $215.06 and a 200-day moving average of $197.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.31, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.98.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.51. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Garmin had a net margin of 22.42% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.72 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Garmin Ltd. will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Garmin Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Garmin’s payout ratio is 41.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Garmin

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Garmin during the 4th quarter valued at $39,748,000. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. grew its holdings in Garmin by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. now owns 1,857 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $383,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Garmin by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 20,954 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $4,322,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in Garmin during the 4th quarter worth $46,000. Finally, JT Stratford LLC grew its holdings in Garmin by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 9,448 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,949,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. 81.60% of the stock is 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.