Nuveen LLC Buys New Stake in Garmin Ltd. $GRMN

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC acquired approximately 363,375 shares of Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) in the first quarter, valued at around $78.9 million, making up about 0.19% of the company's stock.
• Garmin recently reported quarterly earnings of $2.17 EPS, surpassing analysts' expectations, with revenue growth of 20.4% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.90 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.5% and a payout ratio of 44.39%.

Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 363,375 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $78,900,000. Nuveen LLC owned 0.19% of Garmin as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GRMN. Principal Street Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Garmin by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 3,201 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $660,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Garmin by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,251 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $489,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Garmin by 31.8% in the 1st quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 265 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division grew its holdings in shares of Garmin by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 3,015 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $655,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, FSM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Garmin by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,497 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. 81.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Garmin

In other Garmin news, CEO Clifton A. Pemble sold 7,899 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.25, for a total transaction of $1,605,471.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 141,626 shares of the company's stock, valued at $28,785,484.50. This trade represents a 5.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Douglas G. Boessen sold 1,859 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.00, for a total value of $399,685.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 29,146 shares in the company, valued at $6,266,390. This trade represents a 6.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 19.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Garmin Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Garmin stock traded down $0.33 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $232.02. 192,173 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 938,578. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $218.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $210.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.99. Garmin Ltd. has a twelve month low of $160.94 and a twelve month high of $246.50.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.68 billion. Garmin had a net margin of 23.21% and a return on equity of 20.00%. Garmin's revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.58 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Garmin Ltd. will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Garmin Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Garmin's dividend payout ratio is presently 44.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on GRMN. Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $167.00 price objective (up from $152.00) on shares of Garmin in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Garmin from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Garmin from $172.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Two 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $222.00.

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.