AQR Capital Management LLC Buys 700,967 Shares of Garmin Ltd. $GRMN

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC has increased its stake in Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) by 79.3%, owning about 1,585,170 shares valued at $340,574,000 as of its latest SEC filing.
• Garmin reported impressive earnings, with an EPS of $2.17 for the last quarter, exceeding estimates and showing a 20.4% year-over-year revenue increase.
• Several hedge funds have also raised their stakes in Garmin, indicating strong institutional interest, with 81.60% of the company's stock now owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN - Free Report) by 79.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,585,170 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after acquiring an additional 700,967 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.82% of Garmin worth $340,574,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GRMN. Principal Street Partners LLC increased its holdings in Garmin by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 3,201 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $660,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Garmin by 31.8% during the 1st quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 265 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division increased its holdings in Garmin by 2.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Garmin by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,497 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. 81.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Garmin Price Performance

Shares of GRMN traded up $2.58 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $239.97. The stock had a trading volume of 236,434 shares, compared to its average volume of 933,730. Garmin Ltd. has a 52 week low of $160.94 and a 52 week high of $246.50. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $227.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $211.91. The company has a market capitalization of $46.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.00.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.27. Garmin had a return on equity of 20.00% and a net margin of 23.21%.The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.58 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Garmin has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.000-8.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Garmin Ltd. will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Garmin

In related news, insider Cheng-Wei Wang sold 10,202 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.48, for a total transaction of $2,371,760.96. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 36,092 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,390,668.16. The trade was a 22.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Clifton A. Pemble sold 7,899 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 141,626 shares in the company, valued at $28,785,484.50. The trade was a 5.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 19,960 shares of company stock valued at $4,376,918. Company insiders own 19.54% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on GRMN shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Garmin from $172.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Garmin from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $167.00 price target (up from $152.00) on shares of Garmin in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Garmin presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $222.00.

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.