Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) Reaches New 1-Year High After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

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

The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.51. Garmin had a net margin of 25.48% and a return on equity of 17.99%. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.72 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GRMN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Garmin to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $212.00 to $219.00 in a report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays upped their price objective on Garmin from $133.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley raised Garmin to a “sell” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $164.00 to $171.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Garmin from $215.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Garmin presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $183.83.

Insider Transactions at Garmin

In related news, CFO Douglas G. Boessen sold 1,761 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.99, for a total value of $366,270.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,743,019.88. This trade represents a 6.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 19.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Garmin

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GRMN. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Garmin by 123.2% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 283,412 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $49,889,000 after buying an additional 156,441 shares during the last quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC increased its stake in Garmin by 9.1% during the third quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC now owns 82,362 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $14,498,000 after acquiring an additional 6,878 shares during the last quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank purchased a new stake in Garmin during the third quarter valued at approximately $3,137,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Garmin by 24.2% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,529 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $3,086,000 after purchasing an additional 3,415 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of Garmin by 25.7% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 284,065 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $50,004,000 after purchasing an additional 58,025 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.60% of the company’s stock.

Garmin Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $46.69 billion, a PE ratio of 30.85, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $212.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $194.84.

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.