Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) Shares Sold by Meritage Portfolio Management

Meritage Portfolio Management trimmed its position in Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,815 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 85 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Garmin were worth $4,218,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Garmin during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Garmin by 169.5% during the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 283 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Headinvest LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Garmin during the third quarter worth $41,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Garmin by 35.2% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 380 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Garmin during the fourth quarter worth $51,000. 73.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Garmin Stock Performance

Shares of GRMN stock traded up $0.24 on Thursday, reaching $143.03. 528,226 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 938,937. The company has a market cap of $27.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.28, a P/E/G ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $141.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.21. Garmin Ltd. has a 1 year low of $94.89 and a 1 year high of $149.54.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. Garmin had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 16.60%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.35 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Garmin Ltd. will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Garmin Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. Garmin’s payout ratio is presently 43.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Garmin from $139.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Tigress Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $175.00 target price (up from $165.00) on shares of Garmin in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Barrington Research boosted their target price on shares of Garmin from $119.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Garmin from $120.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Garmin from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $142.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jonathan Burrell sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.15, for a total transaction of $2,192,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 623,834 shares in the company, valued at $91,173,339.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Garmin news, VP Susan Lyman sold 2,587 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.18, for a total value of $349,710.66. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $969,781.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jonathan Burrell sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.15, for a total transaction of $2,192,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 623,834 shares in the company, valued at $91,173,339.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 99,476 shares of company stock worth $14,166,944. 19.89% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.