Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Wednesday.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $175.00 target price (up from $165.00) on shares of Garmin in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Garmin from $120.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Garmin from $139.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Barrington Research upped their price target on shares of Garmin from $119.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Garmin currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $142.33.

Garmin Trading Down 0.8 %

GRMN stock traded down $1.17 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $141.02. 757,659 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 925,689. Garmin has a 52-week low of $94.89 and a 52-week high of $149.54. The stock has a market cap of $27.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.02, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.98. The stock's 50-day moving average is $139.83 and its 200 day moving average is $125.92.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.32. Garmin had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 16.60%. The business had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.35 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Garmin will post 5.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Clifton A. Pemble sold 1,622 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.19, for a total transaction of $217,656.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 159,319 shares in the company, valued at $21,379,016.61. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Garmin news, Director Jonathan Burrell sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $2,100,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 758,834 shares in the company, valued at $106,236,760. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Clifton A. Pemble sold 1,622 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.19, for a total transaction of $217,656.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 159,319 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,379,016.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 99,476 shares of company stock worth $14,166,944. 19.89% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Garmin

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Garmin by 2.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,276,118 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $2,049,121,000 after acquiring an additional 365,713 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in Garmin by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 15,034,948 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,517,327,000 after buying an additional 239,988 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its stake in Garmin by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 7,310,112 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $939,642,000 after buying an additional 63,278 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Garmin by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,798,228 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $545,971,000 after buying an additional 355,087 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Garmin by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,433,511 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $345,772,000 after buying an additional 70,082 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.41% of the company's stock.

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.

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