Howard Capital Management Inc. Sells 147 Shares of Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN)

Howard Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) by 13.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 948 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 147 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Garmin were worth $206,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GRMN. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. grew its position in Garmin by 1,633.3% in the 1st quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 156 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in Garmin in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Garmin in the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Garmin in the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors own 81.60% of the company’s stock.

Garmin Price Performance

Shares of GRMN stock opened at $218.79 on Friday. Garmin Ltd. has a 1 year low of $160.71 and a 1 year high of $246.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $212.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $209.02. The company has a market cap of $42.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.98, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.99.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.27. Garmin had a net margin of 23.21% and a return on equity of 20.00%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.58 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Garmin Ltd. will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

Garmin Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Garmin’s payout ratio is 47.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Clifton A. Pemble sold 7,899 shares of Garmin stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.25, for a total transaction of $1,605,471.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 141,626 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,785,484.50. The trade was a 5.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Douglas G. Boessen sold 1,859 shares of Garmin stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.00, for a total transaction of $399,685.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 29,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,266,390. This trade represents a 6.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 15.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on GRMN shares. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $167.00 target price (up previously from $152.00) on shares of Garmin in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Garmin from $172.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Garmin from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Garmin currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $222.00.

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.