Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Garmin from $120.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Garmin from $139.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $175.00 target price (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Garmin in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Barrington Research lifted their target price on shares of Garmin from $119.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $142.33.

Garmin Price Performance

NYSE GRMN traded down $1.17 on Wednesday, hitting $141.02. The company had a trading volume of 757,659 shares, compared to its average volume of 925,689. The company has a market capitalization of $27.04 billion, a PE ratio of 21.02, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $139.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $125.92. Garmin has a 12-month low of $94.89 and a 12-month high of $149.54.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. Garmin had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 16.60%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.35 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Garmin will post 5.45 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Susan Lyman sold 2,587 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.18, for a total transaction of $349,710.66. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $969,781.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Clifton A. Pemble sold 1,622 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.19, for a total value of $217,656.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 159,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,379,016.61. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Susan Lyman sold 2,587 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.18, for a total transaction of $349,710.66. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 7,174 shares in the company, valued at $969,781.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 99,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,166,944. 19.89% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Garmin

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GRMN. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its stake in Garmin by 17.6% during the first quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 542 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Garmin by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,168 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in Garmin by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,518 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $452,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its stake in Garmin by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 7,189 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $924,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Garmin by 35.2% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 380 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. 73.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.