StockNews.com Downgrades Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) to Hold

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Garmin from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Garmin from $140.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Garmin from $175.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Garmin from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $165.00 to $150.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $156.83.

Garmin Price Performance

Shares of Garmin stock opened at $170.07 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $32.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $164.43 and its 200-day moving average is $147.32. Garmin has a one year low of $99.61 and a one year high of $175.01.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $1.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.25 billion. Garmin had a net margin of 24.96% and a return on equity of 17.26%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.02 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Garmin will post 5.77 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Garmin

In other news, CFO Douglas G. Boessen sold 2,350 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.63, for a total value of $379,830.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 28,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,527,256.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Patrick Desbois sold 4,126 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.52, for a total transaction of $674,683.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,412 shares in the company, valued at $9,551,530.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Douglas G. Boessen sold 2,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.63, for a total value of $379,830.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,527,256.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 19.54% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Garmin

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new stake in Garmin during the first quarter valued at $30,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Garmin in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Garmin in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Garmin by 35.2% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 380 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Garmin during the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. 73.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.