Renaissance Technologies LLC Invests $26.14 Million in Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN)

Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 126,742 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,142,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Garmin at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Garmin during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd raised its stake in shares of Garmin by 864.3% during the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 135 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Garmin in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new stake in Garmin in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in Garmin during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.60% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Garmin

In other news, VP Susan Lyman sold 2,829 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.51, for a total value of $609,677.79. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 8,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,817,180.32. This represents a 25.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Matthew Munn sold 4,637 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.31, for a total value of $1,044,762.47. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,579,799.50. The trade was a 28.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 24,342 shares of company stock worth $5,486,094. Company insiders own 19.54% of the company’s stock.

Garmin Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:GRMN opened at $189.67 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $36.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.95, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.92. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $211.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $204.16. Garmin Ltd. has a 12-month low of $138.86 and a 12-month high of $246.50.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.72 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Garmin Ltd. will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Garmin Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Garmin’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.