Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) Stock Position Lessened by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC reduced its stake in shares of Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) by 25.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 275,818 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 93,521 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned about 0.14% of Garmin worth $56,891,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GRMN. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Garmin in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd raised its holdings in Garmin by 864.3% during the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 135 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. acquired a new stake in Garmin in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new position in Garmin during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Garmin during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.60% of the company’s stock.

Garmin Trading Down 1.6 %

GRMN stock opened at $189.26 on Thursday. Garmin Ltd. has a one year low of $138.86 and a one year high of $246.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $209.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $204.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.41 billion, a PE ratio of 25.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Garmin Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Garmin’s dividend payout ratio is 49.25%.

Insider Activity at Garmin

In other Garmin news, VP Susan Lyman sold 2,829 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.51, for a total value of $609,677.79. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,817,180.32. This represents a 25.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Clifton A. Pemble sold 7,202 shares of Garmin stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.14, for a total transaction of $1,635,862.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 149,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,963,108.50. This trade represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 24,342 shares of company stock valued at $5,486,094. Company insiders own 19.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on GRMN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Garmin from $219.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Garmin from $158.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Garmin to a “sell” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $164.00 to $171.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Garmin from $265.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $210.80.

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.