Novem Group Increases Stock Holdings in Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN)

Novem Group increased its stake in shares of Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN - Free Report) by 34.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,453 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,670 shares during the quarter. Novem Group's holdings in Garmin were worth $1,401,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Clifton A. Pemble sold 7,899 shares of the company'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 transaction of $1,605,471.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 141,626 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,785,484.50. This represents a 5.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 15.38% of the company's stock.

Garmin Stock Up 0.3%

GRMN stock traded up $0.66 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $214.05. 496,760 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 905,923. Garmin Ltd. has a 52 week low of $160.09 and a 52 week high of $246.50. The business has a 50-day moving average of $201.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $206.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.21 billion, a PE ratio of 28.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.97.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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). Garmin had a return on equity of 19.21% and a net margin of 22.76%. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.42 EPS. Garmin's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Garmin Ltd. will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Garmin Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.68%. Garmin's payout ratio is currently 47.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on GRMN. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Garmin from $188.00 to $152.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Garmin from $159.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Garmin from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $206.00.

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.