Scotia Capital Inc. Buys 1,839 Shares of Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN)

Key Points

• Scotia Capital Inc. increased its holdings in Garmin Ltd. by 16.9%, acquiring 1,839 shares to reach a total of 12,709 shares valued at approximately $2.76 million.
• Garmin's quarterly earnings surpassed expectations, reporting $2.17 EPS against a forecast of $1.90, contributing to a revenue of $1.81 billion, up 20.4% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.90 per share, resulting in an annualized total of $3.60 and a yield of 1.6%.

Scotia Capital Inc. increased its position in shares of Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN - Free Report) by 16.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,709 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,839 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc.'s holdings in Garmin were worth $2,760,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Street Partners LLC grew its stake in Garmin by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 3,201 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $660,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its stake in Garmin by 2.7% during the first quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,251 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $489,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its stake in Garmin by 31.8% during the first quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 265 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division grew its stake in Garmin by 2.4% during the first quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 3,015 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $655,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Garmin by 5.1% during the first quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,497 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $325,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. 81.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Douglas G. Boessen sold 1,859 shares of the company's 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 transaction, 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Clifton A. Pemble sold 7,899 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.25, for a total value of $1,605,471.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 141,626 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,785,484.50. The trade was a 5.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 15.38% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Garmin Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GRMN traded up $3.59 on Friday, reaching $232.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 631,035 shares, compared to its average volume of 893,891. Garmin Ltd. has a 52-week low of $160.94 and a 52-week high of $246.50. The company has a market cap of $44.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.67, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $215.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $209.49.

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

Garmin Announces Dividend

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

Garmin Company 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.