Aberdeen Group plc Acquires 22,229 Shares of Trimble Inc. $TRMB

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its holdings in Trimble Inc. by 9.1%, acquiring an additional 22,229 shares during the second quarter, bringing its total ownership to approximately $20.3 million.
• Trimble stock has received multiple upgrades from analysts, with target prices set as high as $100, and it currently holds an average rating of "Buy" with a price target of $92.10.
• CEO Robert G. Painter sold 115,781 shares of Trimble stock at an average price of $82.83, reducing his ownership by over 50% and reflecting significant insider trading activity.

Aberdeen Group plc lifted its holdings in Trimble Inc. (NASDAQ:TRMB - Free Report) by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 267,190 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 22,229 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned about 0.11% of Trimble worth $20,301,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. MAI Capital Management increased its holdings in Trimble by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 2,684 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $176,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC increased its holdings in Trimble by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 3,528 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. CW Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Trimble by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 11,172 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $733,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Trimble by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 21,113 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,386,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its holdings in Trimble by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 7,181 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $546,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.21% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TRMB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Trimble in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $100.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Trimble from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Berenberg Bank set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Trimble and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Trimble from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Trimble from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $92.10.

Insider Activity at Trimble

In related news, CEO Robert G. Painter sold 115,781 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.83, for a total value of $9,590,140.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 114,879 shares in the company, valued at $9,515,427.57. This trade represents a 50.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director James Calvin Dalton sold 609 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.41, for a total value of $50,187.69. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 13,809 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,137,999.69. This represents a 4.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 216,821 shares of company stock valued at $18,110,143. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Trimble Trading Up 1.9%

TRMB stock opened at $77.06 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $81.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.41. Trimble Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $52.91 and a fifty-two week high of $87.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market cap of $18.34 billion, a PE ratio of 66.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.65.

Trimble (NASDAQ:TRMB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter. Trimble had a net margin of 8.02% and a return on equity of 10.24%. The firm had revenue of $856.50 million during the quarter. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Trimble Inc. will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Trimble Profile

Trimble Inc provides technology solutions that enable professionals and field mobile workers to enhance or transform their work processes worldwide. The company's Buildings and Infrastructure segment offers field and office software for project design and visualization; systems to guide and control construction equipment; software for 3D design and data sharing; systems to monitor, track, and manage assets, equipment, and workers; software to share and communicate data; program management solutions for construction owners; 3D conceptual design and modeling software; building information modeling software; enterprise resource planning, project management, and project collaboration solutions; integrated site layout and measurement systems; cost estimating, scheduling, and project controls solutions; and applications for sub-contractors and trades.

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