Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Purchases 1,980 Shares of Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN)

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN - Free Report) by 92.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,114 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after buying an additional 1,980 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Garmin were worth $890,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GRMN. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd increased its position in Garmin by 864.3% during the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 135 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Garmin by 1,633.3% in the first quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 156 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Garmin in the first quarter worth $40,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of Garmin during the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Garmin in the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. 81.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Garmin Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE:GRMN opened at $213.42 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $41.09 billion, a PE ratio of 28.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $201.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $206.91. Garmin Ltd. has a 12 month low of $158.90 and a 12 month high of $246.50.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN - Get Free Report) last issued 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). The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. Garmin had a return on equity of 19.21% and a net margin of 22.76%. The business's revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.42 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Garmin Ltd. will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Garmin Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Garmin's payout ratio is currently 47.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Garmin

In related news, CEO Clifton A. Pemble sold 7,899 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.25, for a total value of $1,605,471.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 141,626 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,785,484.50. This trade represents a 5.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 15.38% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on GRMN. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Garmin from $188.00 to $152.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Garmin from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Garmin from $159.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Two research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Garmin has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $206.00.

Garmin Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.