Value Partners Investments Inc. Makes New $2.98 Million Investment in Garmin Ltd. $GRMN

Key Points

• Value Partners Investments purchased 10,363 Garmin shares worth approximately $2.98 million in the third quarter, while institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 81.6% of the stock.
• Garmin reported quarterly earnings of $2.81 per share, beating estimates by $0.51, on revenue of $2.02 billion—an 11.4% year-over-year increase.
• Garmin shares recently traded at $286.85, and analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $313.71; meanwhile, insiders sold more than $4.8 million of stock over the past 90 days.

Value Partners Investments Inc. purchased a new position in Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 10,363 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $2,982,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Garmin by 2.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,631,843 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $378,540,000 after buying an additional 40,474 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Garmin by 73.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,295,199 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $300,499,000 after acquiring an additional 549,954 shares during the period. Amundi raised its stake in Garmin by 82.5% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,017,314 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $236,027,000 after acquiring an additional 459,980 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Garmin by 192.8% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 506,273 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $117,460,000 after acquiring an additional 333,345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its stake in Garmin by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 479,800 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $111,318,000 after acquiring an additional 31,400 shares during the last quarter. 81.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Garmin

In other Garmin news, VP Joshua H. Maxfield sold 1,152 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.13, for a total transaction of $335,381.76. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 15,042 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,379,177.46. This trade represents a 7.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sean Biddlecombe sold 986 shares of the 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 sale, the director directly owned 6,021 shares in the company, valued at $1,763,430.48. This represents a 14.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 16,108 shares of company stock valued at $4,808,799. Company insiders own 14.80% of the company's stock.

Garmin Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE GRMN traded up $2.06 on Monday, hitting $286.85. 512,196 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 897,965. Garmin Ltd. has a 1-year low of $186.67 and a 1-year high of $314.28. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $285.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $261.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.32 billion, a PE ratio of 29.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.82.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.51. Garmin had a net margin of 24.47% and a return on equity of 20.95%. The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.17 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Garmin Ltd. will post 10.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on GRMN shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Garmin in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Zacks Research lowered Garmin from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Barclays increased their price objective on Garmin from $238.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Garmin from $249.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Arete Research started coverage on Garmin in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $335.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $313.71.

About Garmin

Garmin Ltd. NYSE: GRMN designs and manufactures GPS-enabled technology and smart devices for fitness, outdoor recreation, aviation, marine, and automotive markets. Its product portfolio includes smartwatches, cycling computers, sports and activity trackers, satellite communication devices, navigation systems, and related sensors and accessories.

The company also develops aviation systems and avionics, marine chartplotters and sonar equipment, and navigation and infotainment solutions for vehicle manufacturers.

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