Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Hold

Zacks Research lowered shares of Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks reports.

GRMN has been the subject of a number of other research reports. UBS Group set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Garmin in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Garmin from $249.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Garmin in a research note on Friday, September 4th. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Garmin in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Garmin from $238.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Garmin has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.17.

Garmin Stock Performance

NYSE GRMN opened at $276.84 on Monday. Garmin has a one year low of $186.67 and a one year high of $314.28. The company has a market capitalization of $53.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $287.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $260.34.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.51. Garmin had a net margin of 24.47% and a return on equity of 20.95%. The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.17 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Garmin will post 10.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Garmin news, CEO Clifton A. Pemble sold 4,029 shares of Garmin stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $1,208,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 120,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,038,100. The trade was a 3.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Cheng-Wei Wang sold 9,941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.36, for a total value of $2,975,937.76. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 29,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,832,916.16. The trade was a 25.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 16,108 shares of company stock valued at $4,808,799 in the last ninety days. 14.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Garmin

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Garmin by 336.4% during the third quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 96 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Groupe la Francaise raised its stake in shares of Garmin by 346.4% in the first quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 125 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new position in Garmin in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Garmin by 216.2% in the third quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 117 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Archer Investment Corp acquired a new position in Garmin during the 1st quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.60% of the company’s stock.

Garmin Company Profile

Garmin Ltd. is a technology company that develops products using global positioning system (GPS), satellite communications and other location-based technologies. The company serves consumers, businesses and professional users through product lines focused on fitness, outdoor recreation, aviation, marine and automotive applications.

Its offerings include smartwatches and fitness trackers, cycling computers, navigation devices, satellite communicators, outdoor handhelds, marine chartplotters and sonar systems, and aviation navigation and communication equipment.