Garmin Ltd. $GRMN Shares Acquired by National Pension Service

National Pension Service increased its holdings in shares of Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) by 2.2% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 276,568 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,869 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Garmin were worth $65,696,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Groupe la Francaise raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Garmin during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Archer Investment Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Garmin in the first quarter worth about $37,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Garmin in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Garmin in the first quarter valued at about $44,000. 81.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GRMN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Garmin from $249.00 to $289.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Garmin in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Garmin from $238.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Garmin in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Garmin from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.17.

Garmin Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GRMN opened at $282.38 on Friday. Garmin Ltd. has a 1 year low of $186.67 and a 1 year high of $314.28. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $276.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $254.30. The firm has a market cap of $54.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.11, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.85.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.51. Garmin had a return on equity of 20.95% and a net margin of 24.47%.The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.17 earnings per share. Garmin’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Garmin Ltd. will post 10.08 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sean Biddlecombe sold 986 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.88, for a total transaction of $288,779.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,763,430.48. This represents a 14.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Clifton A. Pemble sold 4,029 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $1,208,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 120,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,038,100. The trade was a 3.25% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 16,108 shares of company stock valued at $4,808,799. Corporate insiders own 14.80% of the company’s stock.

Garmin Company Profile

Garmin Ltd. is a technology company that develops products and services based on global positioning system (GPS) and other navigation technologies. The company serves consumers, businesses and specialized markets through its fitness, outdoor, aviation, marine and automotive original equipment manufacturer (OEM) segments.

Its product portfolio includes smartwatches and cycling computers, sports and activity trackers, outdoor navigation devices, satellite communication products, aviation avionics and navigation systems, marine chartplotters and sonar equipment, and in-vehicle navigation and infotainment solutions.