Garmin Ltd. $GRMN Holdings Lowered by First Trust Advisors LP

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP reduced its Garmin stake by 14.8% in the first quarter, selling 28,800 shares and retaining 166,407 shares worth approximately $38.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 81.6% of Garmin.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive but cautious, with Garmin holding a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $269.40. Recent target changes ranged from $285 at JPMorgan to $325 at Tigress Financial.
• Garmin reported quarterly EPS of $2.08, beating estimates of $1.84, while revenue rose 14% year over year to $1.75 billion. Shares opened at $242.39, compared with a 52-week range of $186.67 to $273.32.

First Trust Advisors LP cut its stake in Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN - Free Report) by 14.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 166,407 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 28,800 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.09% of Garmin worth $38,608,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Garmin in the fourth quarter valued at $979,000. DB Fitzpatrick & Co Inc bought a new position in Garmin during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,439,000. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI grew its holdings in Garmin by 282.5% during the fourth quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 6,518 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,322,000 after acquiring an additional 4,814 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR grew its holdings in Garmin by 8,727.4% during the fourth quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 9,357 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,898,000 after acquiring an additional 9,251 shares during the period. Finally, Westerkirk Capital Inc. raised its position in Garmin by 88.2% in the fourth quarter. Westerkirk Capital Inc. now owns 20,700 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $4,199,000 after acquiring an additional 9,700 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on GRMN shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Garmin from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley set a $249.00 price objective on shares of Garmin in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Garmin from $265.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Garmin in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Garmin from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Garmin presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $269.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Douglas G. Boessen sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.91, for a total transaction of $475,820.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 26,049 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,197,317.59. The trade was a 7.13% 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, Director Joseph J. Hartnett sold 643 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.57, for a total value of $169,475.51. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 21,277 shares in the company, valued at $5,607,978.89. The trade was a 2.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 14.80% of the company's stock.

Garmin Stock Performance

Garmin stock opened at $242.39 on Tuesday. Garmin Ltd. has a 52 week low of $186.67 and a 52 week high of $273.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $239.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $235.21.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. Garmin had a net margin of 23.26% and a return on equity of 20.07%. The company's revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.61 EPS. Garmin has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.350-9.350 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Garmin Ltd. will post 9.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Garmin Company 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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