National Pension Service Boosts Stake in Garmin Ltd. $GRMN

Key Points

• National Pension Service increased its Garmin stake by 2.2% in the second quarter, purchasing 5,869 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 276,568 shares worth approximately $65.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 81.6% of Garmin.
• Garmin reported quarterly EPS of $2.81, beating estimates of $2.30, while revenue rose 11.4% year over year to $2.02 billion. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $310.17.
• Garmin shares opened at $282.38, near the midpoint of their $186.67–$314.28 one-year range. Company insiders sold 16,108 shares worth roughly $4.8 million over the prior 90 days.

National Pension Service raised its stake in shares of Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN - Free Report) by 2.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 276,568 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after buying an additional 5,869 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned about 0.14% of Garmin worth $65,696,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of GRMN. Groupe la Francaise lifted its position in shares of Garmin by 346.4% in the first quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 125 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Garmin during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Garmin during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Archer Investment Corp acquired a new position in Garmin in the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in Garmin in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GRMN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Tigress Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Garmin in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of Garmin from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Garmin in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Garmin from $249.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Garmin from $238.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $310.17.

Garmin Stock Performance

Shares of GRMN stock opened at $282.38 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.85. Garmin Ltd. has a one year low of $186.67 and a one year high of $314.28. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $276.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $254.30.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.51. The company had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. Garmin had a net margin of 24.47% and a return on equity of 20.95%. Garmin's revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.17 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Garmin Ltd. will post 10.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Garmin

In other news, Director Sean Biddlecombe sold 986 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.88, for a total value of $288,779.68. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,021 shares in the company, valued at $1,763,430.48. This trade represents a 14.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheng-Wei Wang sold 9,941 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.36, for a total value of $2,975,937.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 29,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,832,916.16. This trade represents a 25.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 16,108 shares of company stock worth $4,808,799 over the last ninety days. 14.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Garmin

Garmin Ltd. is a technology company that develops products and services based on global positioning system (GPS) and other navigation technologies. The company serves consumers, businesses and specialized markets through its fitness, outdoor, aviation, marine and automotive original equipment manufacturer (OEM) segments.

Its product portfolio includes smartwatches and cycling computers, sports and activity trackers, outdoor navigation devices, satellite communication products, aviation avionics and navigation systems, marine chartplotters and sonar equipment, and in-vehicle navigation and infotainment solutions.

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