Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Has $2.76 Million Holdings in Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in shares of Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,431 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Garmin were worth $2,755,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Greenleaf Trust boosted its stake in Garmin by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,518 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $452,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Garmin by 35.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 380 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its stake in Garmin by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,207 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in Garmin by 32.0% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 466 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balentine LLC boosted its stake in Garmin by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 6,595 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $694,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Garmin

In related news, Director Jonathan Burrell sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $2,100,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 758,834 shares in the company, valued at $106,236,760. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Jonathan Burrell sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $2,100,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 758,834 shares in the company, valued at $106,236,760. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Susan Lyman sold 2,587 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 7,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $969,781.32. 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Garmin Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of GRMN opened at $142.51 on Wednesday. Garmin Ltd. has a 12-month low of $94.89 and a 12-month high of $149.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.33 billion, a PE ratio of 21.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.62 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $141.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $127.10.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) last issued 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 the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.32. Garmin had a return on equity of 16.60% and a net margin of 24.67%. The business had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.35 earnings per share. 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 EPS for the current year.

Garmin Dividend Announcement

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

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.