Cetera Investment Advisers Acquires 6,145 Shares of Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN)

Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN - Free Report) by 28.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,575 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,145 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Garmin were worth $5,688,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GRMN. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Garmin by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 199,713 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $35,155,000 after purchasing an additional 5,965 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its stake in shares of Garmin by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 33,308 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $6,870,000 after purchasing an additional 1,984 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank increased its stake in shares of Garmin by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 1,500 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Garmin by 84.2% in the 4th quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,073 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $634,000 after buying an additional 1,405 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tealwood Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Garmin by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,405 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $3,177,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 81.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Garmin Stock Performance

Shares of GRMN traded down $0.38 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $204.90. 518,375 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 880,314. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $198.19 and a 200-day moving average of $208.64. Garmin Ltd. has a 52 week low of $158.38 and a 52 week high of $246.50. The stock has a market cap of $39.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.03, a PEG 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 net margin of 22.42% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.42 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Garmin Ltd. will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Garmin Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Garmin's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Garmin

In related news, VP Susan Lyman sold 2,829 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.51, for a total value of $609,677.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,432 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,817,180.32. This trade represents a 25.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Patrick Desbois sold 6,911 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 63,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,321,353.20. The trade was a 9.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,342 shares of company stock valued at $5,486,094 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 15.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GRMN. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Garmin from $265.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Garmin from $159.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays cut their price target on Garmin from $188.00 to $152.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Garmin from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Garmin currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $194.80.

Garmin 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.