US Bancorp DE Boosts Position in Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN)

US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) by 35.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,551 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 3,030 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Garmin were worth $2,508,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GRMN. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd grew its position in shares of Garmin by 864.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. grew its holdings in Garmin by 1,633.3% during the 1st quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 156 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in Garmin during the first quarter worth $34,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Garmin in the first quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Garmin in the first quarter valued at $43,000. 81.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Garmin from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $167.00 price target (up from $152.00) on shares of Garmin in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Garmin from $172.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $222.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Garmin

In related news, CFO Douglas G. Boessen sold 1,859 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.00, for a total value of $399,685.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 29,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,266,390. This trade represents a 6.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $1,605,471.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 141,626 shares in the company, valued at $28,785,484.50. The trade was a 5.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 15.38% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Garmin Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE GRMN opened at $229.90 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $213.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $209.15. Garmin Ltd. has a twelve month low of $160.94 and a twelve month high of $246.50. The company has a market capitalization of $44.25 billion, a PE ratio of 28.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Garmin Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Garmin’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.39%.

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.