Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) Sets New 12-Month High Following Earnings Beat

Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $238.56 and last traded at $242.31, with a volume of 417781 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $214.78.

The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.51. Garmin had a return on equity of 17.99% and a net margin of 25.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Garmin to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $212.00 to $219.00 in a report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays increased their price objective on Garmin from $133.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Garmin from $215.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Garmin to a “sell” rating and raised their price target for the company from $164.00 to $171.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $183.83.

Insider Transactions at Garmin

In related news, CFO Douglas G. Boessen sold 1,761 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 27,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,743,019.88. This represents a 6.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 19.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Garmin

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Garmin in the fourth quarter worth $396,184,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Garmin by 40.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,775,154 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $664,540,000 after purchasing an additional 1,093,219 shares during the period. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. acquired a new position in Garmin during the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,252,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Garmin by 20.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,708,495 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $352,394,000 after buying an additional 286,765 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Garmin by 1,580.3% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 287,283 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $50,570,000 after acquiring an additional 270,186 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.60% of the company’s stock.

Garmin Stock Up 11.7 %

The firm has a market cap of $46.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $212.63 and its 200 day moving average is $194.17.

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.