Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) Shares Purchased by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) by 9.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 251,319 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,445 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Garmin were worth $52,061,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Garmin by 578.6% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 190 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Garmin by 0.3% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 109,361 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $19,251,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Garmin by 40.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,775,154 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $664,540,000 after acquiring an additional 1,093,219 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Garmin by 74.9% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 2,700 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $475,000 after acquiring an additional 1,156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its position in Garmin by 44.1% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 2,326 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $409,000 after purchasing an additional 712 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.60% of the company’s stock.

Garmin Stock Performance

Garmin stock opened at $213.59 on Friday. Garmin Ltd. has a 1 year low of $138.86 and a 1 year high of $246.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $217.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $202.73. The company has a market cap of $41.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.22, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.96.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.51. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.72 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Garmin Ltd. will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

Garmin Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Garmin’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.25%.

Insider Transactions at Garmin

In other Garmin news, VP Susan Lyman sold 2,829 shares of the business’s 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 in the company, valued at $1,817,180.32. The trade was a 25.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Patrick Desbois sold 6,911 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.15, for a total value of $1,569,833.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 63,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,321,353.20. This trade represents a 9.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 24,342 shares of company stock worth $5,486,094. 19.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Garmin 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.