KBC Group NV Sells 13,883 Shares of Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN)

KBC Group NV trimmed its position in shares of Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN - Free Report) by 33.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,292 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 13,883 shares during the period. KBC Group NV's holdings in Garmin were worth $5,926,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its position in Garmin by 1,633.3% in the first quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 156 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Garmin during the first quarter worth $40,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in Garmin during the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Garmin in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. 81.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Garmin Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE GRMN traded up $2.29 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $213.42. The company had a trading volume of 676,842 shares, compared to its average volume of 905,317. The stock has a market cap of $41.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.97. Garmin Ltd. has a 52 week low of $158.90 and a 52 week high of $246.50. The business's 50-day moving average is $200.89 and its 200-day moving average is $206.87.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. Garmin had a return on equity of 19.21% and a net margin of 22.76%. Garmin's revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Garmin Ltd. will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Garmin Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. Garmin's payout ratio is currently 47.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Clifton A. Pemble sold 7,899 shares of the 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 transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 19.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on GRMN shares. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Garmin from $188.00 to $152.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Garmin from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Garmin from $159.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $206.00.

Garmin 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.