Axa S.A. Acquires 32,495 Shares of Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN)

AXA S.A. raised its position in shares of Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN - Free Report) by 41.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 111,182 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 32,495 shares during the quarter. AXA S.A. owned 0.06% of Garmin worth $22,932,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Garmin by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,863 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $591,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp lifted its stake in Garmin by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 3,886 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $802,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Garmin by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 241 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Garmin by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 522 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Garmin by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,821 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $788,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 81.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Garmin Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE GRMN traded up $1.14 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $188.28. 928,413 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 874,822. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $201.46 and a 200 day moving average of $206.84. Garmin Ltd. has a 12-month low of $158.38 and a 12-month high of $246.50. The company has a market cap of $36.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Garmin Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Garmin's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on GRMN shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Garmin from $159.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Garmin from $265.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. 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, May 1st. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Garmin from $188.00 to $152.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $194.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Susan Lyman sold 2,829 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.51, for a total transaction of $609,677.79. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 8,432 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,817,180.32. This represents a 25.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Matthew Munn sold 4,637 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.31, for a total transaction of $1,044,762.47. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,450 shares in the company, valued at $2,579,799.50. The trade was a 28.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,342 shares of company stock valued at $5,486,094 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 15.38% of the company's stock.

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.