Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) Position Reduced by AQR Capital Management LLC

AQR Capital Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN - Free Report) by 8.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 884,203 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 83,169 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.46% of Garmin worth $182,376,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Garmin by 1,078.9% in the 4th quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 45,966 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $9,481,000 after buying an additional 42,067 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Garmin by 20.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,708,495 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $352,394,000 after purchasing an additional 286,765 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Garmin by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 29,289 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $6,041,000 after acquiring an additional 3,039 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado acquired a new position in Garmin in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,276,000. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Garmin in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,531,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.60% of the company's stock.

Garmin Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Garmin stock traded up $0.21 during trading on Thursday, hitting $187.08. 1,019,559 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 877,424. Garmin Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $158.38 and a fifty-two week high of $246.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $205.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $206.09.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by ($0.01). Garmin had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 22.42%. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.42 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Garmin Ltd. will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Garmin Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. Garmin's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on GRMN shares. Barclays decreased their price target on Garmin from $188.00 to $152.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Garmin from $159.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Garmin from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Garmin from $265.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $194.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Clifton A. Pemble sold 7,202 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.14, for a total value of $1,635,862.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 149,525 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,963,108.50. This represents a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Patrick Desbois sold 6,911 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.15, for a total transaction of $1,569,833.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 63,048 shares in the company, valued at $14,321,353.20. This represents a 9.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,342 shares of company stock worth $5,486,094 over the last ninety days. 19.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.