Analysts Set Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) PT at $162.67

Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) has been given an average rating of “Reduce” by the six brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $162.67.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GRMN. Morgan Stanley cut Garmin from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $138.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Garmin from $133.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com cut shares of Garmin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Garmin from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th.

Garmin Stock Performance

Shares of GRMN stock opened at $219.29 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $42.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.97. Garmin has a 52 week low of $119.15 and a 52 week high of $220.78. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $191.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $177.56.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.53. The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.44 billion. Garmin had a return on equity of 17.99% and a net margin of 25.48%. The business’s revenue was up 24.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.41 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Garmin will post 7.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Garmin

In other news, Director Sean Biddlecombe sold 587 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.10, for a total transaction of $123,328.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,291,484.70. This represents a 8.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 19.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Garmin

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lifted its position in Garmin by 0.9% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 6,686 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,177,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its holdings in Garmin by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 14,056 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,290,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Garmin by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,879 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $469,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Garmin by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,715 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,062,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Garmin by 5.8% in the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,522 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.60% of the company’s stock.

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.