Safeguard Financial LLC Sells 250 Shares of Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN)

Safeguard Financial LLC cut its holdings in shares of Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) by 12.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,711 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. Safeguard Financial LLC’s holdings in Garmin were worth $220,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Garmin by 169.5% in the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 283 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC raised its position in shares of Garmin by 107.1% during the first quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 321 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. 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 valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Garmin in the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Headinvest LLC acquired a new stake in Garmin in the third quarter worth about $41,000. 73.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Garmin Stock Performance

NYSE GRMN traded up $0.46 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $142.10. 833,645 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 927,979. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.10, a P/E/G ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 0.98. Garmin Ltd. has a twelve month low of $94.89 and a twelve month high of $149.54. The business’s 50-day moving average is $139.04 and its 200-day moving average is $125.55.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 last year, the business earned $1.35 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Garmin Ltd. will post 5.45 EPS for the current year.

Garmin Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. Garmin’s dividend payout ratio is 43.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Garmin from $139.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Bank of America upped 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. StockNews.com raised Garmin from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Barrington Research lifted their price objective on Garmin from $119.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $142.33.

Insider Transactions at Garmin

In other Garmin news, CEO Clifton A. Pemble sold 1,622 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.19, for a total transaction of $217,656.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 159,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,379,016.61. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Garmin news, CEO Clifton A. Pemble sold 1,622 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 159,319 shares in the company, valued at $21,379,016.61. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Susan Lyman sold 2,587 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.18, for a total value of $349,710.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $969,781.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 99,476 shares of company stock worth $14,166,944. 19.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.