Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 560,985 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,468 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned about 0.29% of Garmin worth $72,109,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Garmin by 213.5% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 41,557 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $5,342,000 after purchasing an additional 28,301 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Garmin by 42.7% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 125,389 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $13,191,000 after purchasing an additional 37,532 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Garmin in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,691,000. SteelPeak Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Garmin by 369.6% in the 4th quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 14,087 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,811,000 after purchasing an additional 11,087 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its position in shares of Garmin by 62.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 57,449 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $6,044,000 after purchasing an additional 22,130 shares during the last quarter. 73.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Garmin

In related news, VP Susan Lyman sold 2,587 shares of Garmin stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now owns 7,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $969,781.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Garmin news, Director Jonathan Burrell sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.15, for a total value of $2,192,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 623,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $91,173,339.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Susan Lyman sold 2,587 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 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 quarter, insiders have sold 99,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,166,944. 19.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Garmin Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GRMN opened at $141.02 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.02, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.98. Garmin Ltd. has a 12 month low of $94.89 and a 12 month high of $149.54. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $139.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $125.92.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.72 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.35 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Garmin Ltd. will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Garmin Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. 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 2.13%. Garmin’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Garmin from $120.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Garmin from $139.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Garmin from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Tigress Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $175.00 price target (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Garmin in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Barrington Research increased their price target on shares of Garmin from $119.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Garmin presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $142.33.

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.