Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) Shares Purchased by Simplicity Solutions LLC

Simplicity Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) by 104.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,477 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,289 shares during the period. Simplicity Solutions LLC’s holdings in Garmin were worth $575,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Garmin in the fourth quarter valued at $144,641,000. Select Equity Group L.P. lifted its position in Garmin by 108.1% during the first quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 1,868,540 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $188,573,000 after buying an additional 970,527 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Garmin by 195.2% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 987,042 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $117,073,000 after buying an additional 652,700 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Garmin by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,276,118 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,049,121,000 after buying an additional 365,713 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Garmin by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,798,228 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $545,971,000 after acquiring an additional 355,087 shares during the last quarter. 73.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on GRMN shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Garmin from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Garmin from $120.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barrington Research increased their target price on Garmin from $119.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Tigress Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $175.00 price target (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Garmin in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Garmin from $139.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $142.33.

Garmin Price Performance

NYSE:GRMN opened at $141.02 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $139.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $125.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.04 billion, a PE ratio of 21.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.98. Garmin Ltd. has a 12 month low of $94.89 and a 12 month high of $149.54.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. Garmin had a return on equity of 16.60% and a net margin of 24.67%. The company’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.35 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Garmin Ltd. will post 5.45 EPS for the current year.

Garmin Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. Garmin’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.52%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Clifton A. Pemble sold 1,622 shares of Garmin stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.19, for a total transaction of $217,656.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 159,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,379,016.61. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP Susan Lyman sold 2,587 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.18, for a total transaction of $349,710.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $969,781.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Clifton A. Pemble sold 1,622 shares of Garmin stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.19, for a total transaction of $217,656.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 159,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,379,016.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 99,476 shares of company stock worth $14,166,944. 19.89% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Garmin 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.