Liberty Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Trimble Inc. $TRMB

Key Points

• Liberty Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Trimble Inc. by 22.9% during Q2, owning 30,800 shares valued at approximately $2.34 million.
• Recent insider trades included significant sales by CEO Robert G. Painter and VP Christopher F. Keating, with Painter selling over 115,000 shares, leading to significant decreases in their ownership positions.
• Research analysts have raised their price targets for Trimble shares, with JPMorgan Chase setting a new target of $98.00 and Oppenheimer adjusting their target to $94.00, indicating a positive outlook.

Liberty Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Trimble Inc. (NASDAQ:TRMB - Free Report) by 22.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,800 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,745 shares during the quarter. Liberty Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Trimble were worth $2,340,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Trimble during the first quarter worth about $45,000. Steph & Co. boosted its holdings in Trimble by 592.0% in the 2nd quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 692 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 592 shares during the period. State of Wyoming bought a new position in Trimble in the 1st quarter worth approximately $58,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Trimble by 153.5% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 976 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 591 shares during the period. Finally, Friedenthal Financial boosted its holdings in Trimble by 64.7% in the 1st quarter. Friedenthal Financial now owns 1,153 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 453 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.21% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Trimble

In other news, VP Christopher F. Keating sold 7,365 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.74, for a total transaction of $602,015.10. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 406 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,186.44. The trade was a 94.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Robert G. Painter sold 115,781 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.83, for a total value of $9,590,140.23. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 114,879 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,515,427.57. This represents a 50.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 230,357 shares of company stock valued at $19,181,521. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Trimble Stock Performance

Trimble stock opened at $81.65 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a market capitalization of $19.43 billion, a PE ratio of 70.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.66. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.79. Trimble Inc. has a twelve month low of $52.91 and a twelve month high of $87.50.

Trimble (NASDAQ:TRMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $875.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $835.81 million. Trimble had a return on equity of 10.24% and a net margin of 8.02%.The business's revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.62 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Trimble Inc. will post 2.37 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on TRMB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Trimble from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Trimble from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Trimble from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $93.00 price target (up from $85.00) on shares of Trimble in a report on Thursday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and seven have given a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $90.75.

Trimble Company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding TRMB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Trimble Inc. (NASDAQ:TRMB - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.