JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) Price Target to $175.00

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) had its price objective raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $155.00 to $175.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on GRMN. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Garmin from $120.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barrington Research increased their price target on shares of Garmin from $119.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on Garmin from $140.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday. Tigress Financial reissued a strong-buy rating and set a $175.00 price target (up from $165.00) on shares of Garmin in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Garmin from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Garmin has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $153.50.

Garmin Stock Up 0.4 %

GRMN traded up $0.64 on Thursday, hitting $165.97. The company had a trading volume of 973,141 shares, compared to its average volume of 983,928. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $145.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $129.28. Garmin has a 12-month low of $99.56 and a 12-month high of $166.43. The company has a market cap of $31.88 billion, a PE ratio of 23.40, a PEG ratio of 5.42 and a beta of 0.99.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $1.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.25 billion. Garmin had a return on equity of 17.26% and a net margin of 24.96%. Garmin’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.02 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Garmin will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Garmin Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. Garmin’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.18%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jonathan Burrell sold 15,000 shares of Garmin stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $2,100,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 758,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $106,236,760. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Jonathan Burrell sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $2,100,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 758,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $106,236,760. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Clifton A. Pemble sold 1,622 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 159,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,379,016.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 99,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,166,944. 19.89% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Garmin

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GRMN. WBI Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Garmin by 513.1% during the first quarter. WBI Investments LLC now owns 46,833 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $6,972,000 after purchasing an additional 39,194 shares in the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Garmin in the first quarter worth $921,000. RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Garmin in the 1st quarter valued at about $232,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in Garmin during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,389,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Garmin by 12.5% in the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 15,122 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,251,000 after purchasing an additional 1,677 shares during the period. 73.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.