Shares of Garmin Ltd. rallied 7.1% toward a more-than 12-year high in premarket trading Wednesday, after the maker of navigation, communications and information devices reported fourth-quarter earnings that beat expectations, provided an upbeat outlook and raised its dividend by 7%. Net income rose to $360.8 million, or $1.89 a share, from $190.2 million, or $1.00 a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to $1.29, above the FactSet consensus of $1.05. Revenue rose 18% to $1.10 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $1.01 billion, as all of Garmin's business segments, such as fitness, aviation, marine, outdoor and auto, beat expectations. For 2020, the company expects EPS of approximately $4.60, above the FactSet consensus of $4.34, and revenue of approximately $4.0 billion, above expectations of $3.83 billion. The company raised its annual dividend to $2.44 a share from $2.28 a share, with the first quarterly installment of 61 cents a share payable June 30 to shareholders of record on June 15. The stock, on track to open at the highest price seen during regular session hours since December 2007, has edged up 0.2% over the past three months through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 8.0%.
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