Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Stock Position in Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Garmin Ltd. by 12.5%, now holding approximately 0.15% of the company, valued at $61.39 million.
• The company reported earnings of $2.17 per share in the latest quarter, exceeding analyst expectations and showing a 20.4% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• Garmin announced a quarterly dividend of $0.90 per share, reflecting an annualized figure of $3.60 and a yield of 1.5%.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN - Free Report) by 12.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 282,751 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 31,432 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.15% of Garmin worth $61,394,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd increased its position in shares of Garmin by 864.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Garmin in the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Garmin in the first quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Garmin in the first quarter worth approximately $43,000. 81.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Douglas G. Boessen sold 1,859 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.00, for a total transaction of $399,685.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 29,146 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,266,390. This represents a 6.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Clifton A. Pemble sold 7,899 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.25, for a total value of $1,605,471.75. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 19.54% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $167.00 price objective (up from $152.00) on shares of Garmin in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Garmin from $172.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Garmin from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $222.00.

Garmin Stock Performance

GRMN traded up $0.66 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $233.61. The stock had a trading volume of 321,516 shares, compared to its average volume of 944,217. The company has a market cap of $44.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a fifty day moving average of $216.39 and a 200 day moving average of $209.67. Garmin Ltd. has a 1 year low of $160.94 and a 1 year high of $246.50.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. Garmin had a return on equity of 20.00% and a net margin of 23.21%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.58 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Garmin Ltd. will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Garmin Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Garmin's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.39%.

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.