Monte Financial Group LLC Sells 3,214 Shares of Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN)

Monte Financial Group LLC lessened its position in shares of Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) by 10.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 28,193 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 3,214 shares during the quarter. Garmin accounts for approximately 2.5% of Monte Financial Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Monte Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Garmin were worth $5,815,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in GRMN. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Garmin by 71.2% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 5,982 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $975,000 after purchasing an additional 2,487 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its position in Garmin by 60.8% in the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 29,383 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $4,787,000 after buying an additional 11,108 shares in the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC raised its stake in Garmin by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 21,423 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $3,490,000 after buying an additional 855 shares during the period. AXA S.A. raised its position in Garmin by 26.2% in the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 78,226 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $12,745,000 after buying an additional 16,237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Garmin by 136.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 711,849 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $115,177,000 after acquiring an additional 411,084 shares in the last quarter. 81.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Garmin Price Performance

NYSE:GRMN opened at $214.37 on Friday. Garmin Ltd. has a 1 year low of $119.15 and a 1 year high of $222.97. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $211.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $188.64. The company has a market cap of $41.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.98.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.53. Garmin had a return on equity of 17.99% and a net margin of 25.48%. The business had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 24.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Garmin Ltd. will post 7.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Garmin from $133.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Garmin from $215.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Garmin from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $155.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Garmin has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $171.00.

Insider Activity at Garmin

In other news, CFO Douglas G. Boessen sold 1,761 shares of Garmin stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was 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 owns 27,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,743,019.88. This trade represents a 6.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Sean Biddlecombe sold 587 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 6,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,291,484.70. This trade represents a 8.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 19.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Garmin 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.