Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Shares of Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $217.30 and last traded at $217.15, with a volume of 55663 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $215.77.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on GRMN shares. Morgan Stanley cut Garmin from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com lowered Garmin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Garmin from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Garmin from $133.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $162.67.

Garmin Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $189.25 and a 200 day moving average of $176.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.97.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.53. The company had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.44 billion. Garmin had a net margin of 25.48% and a return on equity of 17.99%. The firm’s revenue was up 24.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Garmin Ltd. will post 7.01 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sean Biddlecombe sold 587 shares of Garmin stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.10, for a total value of $123,328.70. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,147 shares in the company, valued at $1,291,484.70. This trade represents a 8.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 19.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Garmin

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GRMN. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Garmin in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. 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 valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Garmin during the second quarter worth $35,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in shares of Garmin by 73.3% in the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 234 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Garmin during the third quarter worth about $39,000. 73.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.