Liontrust Investment Partners LLP Increases Holdings in Trimble Inc. $TRMB

Key Points

• Liontrust Investment Partners LLP has increased its stake in Trimble Inc. by 11.8% during the first quarter, owning a total of 257,327 shares valued at approximately $16.9 million.
• Several hedge funds have also ramped up their positions in Trimble, with notable increases including Central Pacific Bank Trust Division's stake growing by 174.9%.
• Analysts remain optimistic, with multiple firms raising price targets for Trimble, including Oppenheimer who increased its target from $88 to $94 while maintaining an "outperform" rating.

Liontrust Investment Partners LLP grew its stake in Trimble Inc. (NASDAQ:TRMB - Free Report) by 11.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 257,327 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 27,114 shares during the period. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP owned approximately 0.11% of Trimble worth $16,894,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TRMB. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lifted its holdings in Trimble by 174.9% in the 1st quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 558 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Trimble in the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Trimble by 121.8% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 732 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Trimble by 153.5% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 976 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 591 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial boosted its holdings in shares of Trimble by 64.7% in the 1st quarter. Friedenthal Financial now owns 1,153 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 453 shares during the period. 93.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trimble Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TRMB traded down $1.68 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $81.12. The company had a trading volume of 1,793,796 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,576,585. The stock has a market cap of $19.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.69. Trimble Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.91 and a 52-week high of $87.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company's 50 day moving average price is $79.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.78.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $875.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $835.81 million. Trimble had a net margin of 8.02% and a return on equity of 10.24%. The firm's revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.62 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Trimble Inc. will post 2.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Trimble

In other news, VP Mark David Schwartz sold 1,404 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $112,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 21,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,680,080. The trade was a 6.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kaigham Gabriel sold 6,511 shares of Trimble stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.69, for a total transaction of $466,773.59. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 17,939 shares in the company, valued at $1,286,046.91. This trade represents a 26.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 228,894 shares of company stock worth $18,996,091 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $84.00 target price on shares of Trimble in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Trimble from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Trimble from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Trimble from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $93.00 price objective (up from $85.00) on shares of Trimble in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and seven have issued a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $90.50.

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.