ING Groep NV Raises Stake in Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN)

Key Points

• ING Groep NV significantly increased its stake in Garmin Ltd. by 135.0% in Q1, owning approximately 145,033 shares valued at $31.49 million, as reported in a recent SEC filing.
• Garmin's CEO and CFO sold shares worth over $2 million combined, indicating a decrease in their ownership, while institutional investors now hold 81.60% of the company.
• Garmin reported strong quarterly earnings with a 20.4% revenue increase year-over-year and an EPS of $2.17, surpassing analysts' expectations, alongside a declared dividend of $0.90 per share.

ING Groep NV raised its stake in Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN - Free Report) by 135.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 145,033 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after acquiring an additional 83,312 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV owned approximately 0.08% of Garmin worth $31,491,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd boosted its holdings in Garmin by 864.3% in the 4th 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 during the period. TFC Financial Management Inc. grew its holdings in Garmin by 1,633.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Garmin in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Garmin during the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Garmin during the 1st quarter valued at $43,000. Institutional investors own 81.60% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Garmin

In other Garmin news, CEO Clifton A. Pemble sold 7,899 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.25, for a total transaction of $1,605,471.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 141,626 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,785,484.50. This trade represents a 5.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Douglas G. Boessen sold 1,859 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.00, for a total transaction of $399,685.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 29,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,266,390. This trade represents a 6.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 19.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Garmin Stock Performance

NYSE:GRMN opened at $218.79 on Monday. Garmin Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $160.71 and a fifty-two week high of $246.50. The firm has a market cap of $42.11 billion, a PE ratio of 26.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $212.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $208.95.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.68 billion. Garmin had a net margin of 23.21% and a return on equity of 20.00%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.58 EPS. Research analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Garmin's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GRMN. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $167.00 target price (up from $152.00) on shares of Garmin in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Garmin from $172.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Garmin from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Two 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. According to MarketBeat, Garmin currently 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.

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