Entropy Technologies LP Makes New Investment in Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN)

Key Points

• Entropy Technologies LP has acquired 3,044 shares of Garmin Ltd., valued at approximately $661,000, as reported in its recent 13F filing with the SEC.
• Garmin reported $2.17 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenues totaling $1.81 billion, a 20.4% increase year-over-year.
• The company will issue a quarterly dividend of $0.90 on September 26th, providing a 1.5% yield based on an annualized dividend of $3.60.

Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,044 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $661,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GRMN. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Garmin by 18.7% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 8,559 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,858,000 after purchasing an additional 1,347 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Garmin by 23.4% in the first quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,304 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $500,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Garmin by 46.7% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 89,715 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $19,480,000 after acquiring an additional 28,543 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Garmin by 255.2% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 444 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in Garmin by 12.9% in the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 675 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $147,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $167.00 target price (up previously from $152.00) on shares of Garmin in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Garmin from $172.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Garmin from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $222.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Clifton A. Pemble sold 7,899 shares of Garmin stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $28,785,484.50. The trade was a 5.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Douglas G. Boessen sold 1,859 shares of Garmin stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $6,266,390. This represents a 6.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 15.38% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Garmin Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GRMN traded down $2.68 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $232.38. 633,826 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 894,582. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.99. The business's 50-day moving average price is $218.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $210.07. Garmin Ltd. has a 12 month low of $160.94 and a 12 month high of $246.50.

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

Garmin Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Garmin's dividend payout ratio is currently 44.39%.

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.