Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Garmin from “strong buy” to “hold,” although analysts overall maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $310.17.
• Garmin reported a strong quarter, posting $2.81 in EPS versus the $2.30 estimate and $2.02 billion in revenue, up 11.4% year over year.
• Garmin shares opened at $276.84, while insiders sold more than $4.8 million of stock over the past 90 days; institutional investors own 81.6% of the company.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Zacks reports.

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Garmin from $249.00 to $289.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Tigress Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Garmin in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Garmin in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Wall Street Zen cut Garmin from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 20th. Finally, UBS Group set a $370.00 target price on Garmin in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $310.17.

Garmin Trading Up 3.8%

Garmin stock opened at $276.84 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $287.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $260.34. Garmin has a 12-month low of $186.67 and a 12-month high of $314.28. The stock has a market cap of $53.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.59, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.82.

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

Insider Activity at Garmin

In related news, CEO Clifton A. Pemble sold 4,029 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $1,208,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 120,127 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $36,038,100. This trade represents a 3.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sean Biddlecombe sold 986 shares of Garmin stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.88, for a total transaction of $288,779.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,021 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,763,430.48. This trade represents a 14.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 16,108 shares of company stock worth $4,808,799. Company insiders own 14.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Garmin

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Garmin in the 3rd quarter valued at $241,000. Krilogy Financial LLC lifted its stake in Garmin by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 6,029 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,608,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new position in Garmin during the 3rd quarter worth about $227,000. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Garmin by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,307 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $662,000 after acquiring an additional 456 shares during the period. Finally, NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its holdings in Garmin by 34.9% during the 3rd quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 3,142 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $844,000 after acquiring an additional 813 shares during the period. 81.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Garmin

Garmin Ltd. is a technology company that develops products using global positioning system (GPS), satellite communications and other location-based technologies. The company serves consumers, businesses and professional users through product lines focused on fitness, outdoor recreation, aviation, marine and automotive applications.

Its offerings include smartwatches and fitness trackers, cycling computers, navigation devices, satellite communicators, outdoor handhelds, marine chartplotters and sonar systems, and aviation navigation and communication equipment.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.