Russell Investments Group Ltd. Buys 49,826 Shares of Garmin Ltd. $GRMN

Key Points

• Russell Investments increased its stake in Garmin by 19.5%, buying 49,826 shares to own 305,655 shares worth about $75.25 million (roughly 0.16% of the company) at quarter-end.
• Garmin beat quarterly estimates (EPS $2.79 vs. $2.39; revenue $2.12B vs. $2.01B), set FY2026 guidance at 9.35 EPS, and carries a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” with a $254 price target (JPMorgan raised its target to $265).
• Insiders have been net sellers (57,319 shares worth $13.65M in the past 90 days) even as Garmin announced a $1.05 quarterly dividend (annualized $4.20, ~1.7% yield); institutional ownership is ~81.6% and insiders own 19.54%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN - Free Report) by 19.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 305,655 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after buying an additional 49,826 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.16% of Garmin worth $75,246,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GRMN. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Garmin by 2.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,197,564 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $4,973,044,000 after buying an additional 499,235 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Garmin by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 5,892,150 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,229,810,000 after acquiring an additional 356,161 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Garmin by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,606,511 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $958,405,000 after acquiring an additional 59,321 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Garmin during the 2nd quarter valued at about $410,304,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Garmin by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,494,519 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $367,964,000 after acquiring an additional 16,622 shares during the last quarter. 81.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GRMN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Garmin from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Garmin from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Barclays set a $240.00 price target on shares of Garmin in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Garmin in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Longbow Research raised shares of Garmin from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $254.00.

Insider Activity at Garmin

In other Garmin news, VP Susan Lyman sold 3,805 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.32, for a total transaction of $956,272.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 7,471 shares in the company, valued at $1,877,611.72. This represents a 33.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Patrick Desbois sold 6,694 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.65, for a total value of $1,684,545.10. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 58,540 shares in the company, valued at $14,731,591. This trade represents a 10.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 57,319 shares of company stock worth $13,650,815 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 19.54% of the company's stock.

Garmin Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE GRMN opened at $241.56 on Wednesday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $219.29 and its 200 day moving average is $221.86. The stock has a market cap of $46.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.94. Garmin Ltd. has a 1-year low of $169.26 and a 1-year high of $261.69.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.01 billion. Garmin had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 22.96%.Garmin's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.41 earnings per share. Garmin has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.350-9.350 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Garmin Ltd. will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Garmin Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 12th. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Garmin's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.86%.

Garmin Profile

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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