California State Teachers Retirement System Purchases 59,157,102 Shares of Garmin Ltd. $GRMN

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System increased its Garmin stake by 23,029.3%, purchasing 59.16 million shares to own 59.41 million shares, or 30.81% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 81.60% of Garmin.
• Garmin reported quarterly EPS of $2.81, beating estimates by $0.51, while revenue rose 11.4% year over year to $2.02 billion. The company posted a 24.47% net margin and analysts expect full-year EPS of $10.08.
• Garmin shares opened at $275.55, down 0.5%, while analyst sentiment remained a consensus “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $310.17. Insiders sold 16,108 shares worth approximately $4.81 million over the past 90 days.

California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN - Free Report) by 23,029.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 59,413,980 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after buying an additional 59,157,102 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 30.81% of Garmin worth $14,113,197,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Garmin during the fourth quarter worth $979,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Garmin by 121.6% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 107,929 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $25,041,000 after buying an additional 59,229 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Garmin in the second quarter valued at about $1,447,000. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI lifted its position in Garmin by 282.5% during the 4th quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 6,518 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,322,000 after buying an additional 4,814 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westerkirk Capital Inc. lifted its position in Garmin by 88.2% during the 4th quarter. Westerkirk Capital Inc. now owns 20,700 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $4,199,000 after buying an additional 9,700 shares in the last quarter. 81.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Garmin Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:GRMN opened at $275.55 on Wednesday. Garmin Ltd. has a 1-year low of $186.67 and a 1-year high of $314.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $274.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $253.71.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.51. Garmin had a net margin of 24.47% and a return on equity of 20.95%. The company had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.17 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Garmin Ltd. will post 10.08 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Garmin

In other Garmin news, VP Joshua Maxfield sold 1,152 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.13, for a total value of $335,381.76. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 15,042 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,379,177.46. This trade represents a 7.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Sean Biddlecombe sold 986 shares of Garmin stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.88, for a total transaction of $288,779.68. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,021 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,763,430.48. This represents a 14.07% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 16,108 shares of company stock valued at $4,808,799. 14.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on GRMN. KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Garmin in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. UBS Group set a $370.00 target price on shares of Garmin in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Garmin in a research report on Friday. Tigress Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Garmin in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Garmin from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $310.17.

Garmin Profile

Garmin Ltd. is a technology company best known for designing and manufacturing navigation, communication and information devices that leverage global positioning system (GPS) technology. The company serves a diverse set of markets including consumer fitness and wearables, automotive navigation, aviation avionics, marine electronics and outdoor handheld devices. Garmin's products combine hardware, mapping and software services to deliver location-aware solutions for personal, recreational and professional uses.

Garmin's product lineup includes wearable fitness and multisport watches (Forerunner, Fenix, Venu), cycling computers and accessories (Edge, Varia), handheld and handheld-mounted GPS devices for outdoor activities, automotive and portable navigation units, marine chartplotters and fishfinders, and certified avionics for fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft.

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