Short Interest in Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) Increases By 34.5%

Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,980,000 shares, an increase of 34.5% from the February 28th total of 2,960,000 shares. Approximately 2.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 947,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.2 days.

Garmin Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:GRMN traded up $3.75 during trading on Monday, hitting $217.41. 1,059,009 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 849,561. Garmin has a 1-year low of $138.86 and a 1-year high of $246.50. The company has a market capitalization of $41.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.96. The business’s 50 day moving average is $217.31 and its 200-day moving average is $203.03.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Garmin had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 22.42%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.72 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Garmin will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Garmin Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Garmin’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on GRMN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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 lifted 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. Morgan Stanley upgraded Garmin to a “sell” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $164.00 to $171.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Garmin from $265.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Garmin presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $210.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Susan Lyman sold 2,829 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.51, for a total transaction of $609,677.79. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,817,180.32. This represents a 25.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Patrick Desbois sold 6,911 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.15, for a total value of $1,569,833.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 63,048 shares in the company, valued at $14,321,353.20. The trade was a 9.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 24,342 shares of company stock valued at $5,486,094. 19.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Garmin

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Garmin during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd grew its position in Garmin by 864.3% during the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 135 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Garmin in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Garmin by 578.6% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 190 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new position in Garmin during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. 81.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.