KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Takes Position in Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 108,374 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,381,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS owned about 0.06% of Garmin as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GRMN. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Garmin by 123.2% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 283,412 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $49,889,000 after acquiring an additional 156,441 shares during the period. Passumpsic Savings Bank acquired a new position in Garmin in the third quarter valued at $3,137,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Garmin by 24.2% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,529 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $3,086,000 after purchasing an additional 3,415 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Garmin in the fourth quarter valued at about $734,000. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Garmin by 42.5% during the fourth quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 431,188 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $88,937,000 after buying an additional 128,672 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.60% of the company’s stock.

Garmin Price Performance

Shares of GRMN stock opened at $209.78 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $216.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $201.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.36 billion, a PE ratio of 28.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.96. Garmin Ltd. has a 1-year low of $138.86 and a 1-year high of $246.50.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Garmin had a net margin of 22.42% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.72 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Garmin Ltd. will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Garmin Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Garmin’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.04%.

Insider Activity at Garmin

In related news, CEO Clifton A. Pemble sold 7,202 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.14, for a total value of $1,635,862.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 149,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,963,108.50. This represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Susan Lyman sold 2,829 shares of Garmin stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.51, for a total transaction of $609,677.79. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,817,180.32. The trade was a 25.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,342 shares of company stock valued at $5,486,094 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 19.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on GRMN. Morgan Stanley raised Garmin to a “sell” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $164.00 to $171.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Garmin from $265.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Garmin from $219.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Garmin from $158.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $210.80.

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.