Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) Short Interest Up 34.5% in March

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

Garmin Price Performance

NYSE GRMN traded down $1.16 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $216.41. 413,332 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 849,001. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $217.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $203.59. Garmin has a 1 year low of $138.86 and a 1 year high of $246.50. The company has a market cap of $41.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.60, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.51. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for 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%. Garmin’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.72 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Garmin will post 7.8 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Garmin’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Clifton A. Pemble sold 7,202 shares of Garmin stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.14, for a total value of $1,635,862.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 149,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,963,108.50. This trade represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.15, for a total transaction of $1,569,833.65. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,342 shares of company stock worth $5,486,094 over the last 90 days. 19.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Garmin

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Garmin in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd increased its stake in Garmin by 864.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new stake in Garmin in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Garmin by 578.6% during 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 period. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new position in shares of Garmin in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. 81.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.