Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $27.88 Million Stake in Garmin Ltd. $GRMN

Key Points

• Lazard Asset Management increased its Garmin stake by 49.7% in the first quarter, acquiring 39,901 additional shares for a total position worth approximately $27.88 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 81.6% of Garmin.
• Garmin insiders recently sold shares, including CFO Douglas Boessen’s $475,820 transaction and Director Joseph J. Hartnett’s $169,476 sale. Company insiders own 14.8% of the stock.
• Garmin reported quarterly EPS of $2.08, beating estimates by $0.24, while revenue rose 14% year over year to $1.75 billion. Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $269.40.

Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN - Free Report) by 49.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 120,166 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after acquiring an additional 39,901 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Garmin worth $27,880,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GRMN. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Garmin during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Archer Investment Corp acquired a new stake in Garmin in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Garmin in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Garmin in the 1st quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Avalon Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Garmin during the first quarter worth approximately $47,000. 81.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Garmin

In other news, CFO Douglas G. Boessen sold 2,000 shares of Garmin stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.91, for a total transaction of $475,820.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 26,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,197,317.59. The trade was a 7.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal 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 dated Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.57, for a total transaction of $169,475.51. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 21,277 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,607,978.89. The trade was a 2.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 14.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GRMN. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Garmin from $240.00 to $238.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Zacks Research cut shares of Garmin from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Garmin in a report on Monday, June 8th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Garmin from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $249.00 price objective on shares of Garmin in a report on Thursday, April 30th. One investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $269.40.

Garmin Trading Up 4.5%

Shares of NYSE GRMN opened at $253.45 on Wednesday. Garmin Ltd. has a one year low of $186.67 and a one year high of $273.32. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $239.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $235.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.26, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.90.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. Garmin had a net margin of 23.26% and a return on equity of 20.07%. The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.61 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Garmin Ltd. will post 9.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Garmin

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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