1,102 Shares in Garmin Ltd. $GRMN Purchased by OneAscent Investment Solutions LLC

Key Points

• OneAscent Investment Solutions LLC has acquired 1,102 shares of Garmin Ltd. for approximately $239,000 during the first quarter, reflecting increased interest from institutional investors.
• Garmin recently reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.90 per share.
• Several investment firms have adjusted their price targets for Garmin, with JPMorgan Chase raising theirs from $215 to $250, and the stock holds a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average target price of $222.00.

OneAscent Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,102 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $239,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Varenne Capital Partners acquired a new stake in Garmin in the 1st quarter worth about $6,740,000. Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Garmin by 42.6% during the 1st quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 15,551 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $3,377,000 after purchasing an additional 4,645 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Garmin by 58.0% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 224,387 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $48,685,000 after purchasing an additional 82,334 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC lifted its holdings in Garmin by 64.7% in the first quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 21,109 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $4,583,000 after acquiring an additional 8,294 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Garmin by 5.7% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 54,808 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $11,900,000 after acquiring an additional 2,966 shares during the last quarter. 81.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Garmin Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GRMN traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $232.49. The company had a trading volume of 462,767 shares, compared to its average volume of 940,500. The company has a market capitalization of $44.75 billion, a PE ratio of 28.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.99. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $218.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $210.02. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for 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%. Garmin'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 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Garmin Ltd. will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

Garmin Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Garmin's payout ratio is 44.39%.

Insider Activity

In other Garmin news, CEO Clifton A. Pemble sold 7,899 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 trade represents a 5.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Douglas G. Boessen sold 1,859 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.00, for a total value of $399,685.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 29,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,266,390. The trade was a 6.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 19.54% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

About Garmin

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.