Quantbot Technologies LP Makes New Investment in Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN)

Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 618 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $127,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Garmin in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new stake in Garmin during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Garmin by 578.6% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 190 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new position in Garmin in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Garmin during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 81.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Garmin Trading Down 1.6 %

GRMN stock opened at $213.59 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $41.10 billion, a PE ratio of 29.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.96. Garmin Ltd. has a 12 month low of $138.86 and a 12 month high of $246.50. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $217.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $203.03.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.51. Garmin had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 22.42%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.72 EPS. Garmin’s quarterly revenue was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Garmin Ltd. will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

Garmin Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. Garmin’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Patrick Desbois sold 6,911 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.15, for a total value of $1,569,833.65. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 63,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,321,353.20. This trade represents a 9.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Clifton A. Pemble sold 7,202 shares of Garmin stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.14, for a total transaction of $1,635,862.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 149,525 shares in the company, valued at $33,963,108.50. This represents a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,342 shares of company stock valued at $5,486,094 over the last quarter. 19.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.