Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Stake in Trimble Inc. (NASDAQ:TRMB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Trimble Inc. (NASDAQ:TRMB - Free Report) by 11.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 599,801 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 77,416 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.24% of Trimble worth $39,377,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC raised its position in Trimble by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 28,546 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $2,017,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in Trimble by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 10,155 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $717,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its position in shares of Trimble by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,768 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC increased its stake in Trimble by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 9,675 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $684,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Trimble by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,610 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $184,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. 93.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on TRMB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Trimble from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Trimble from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $84.00 target price on shares of Trimble in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $88.43.

Trimble Price Performance

Trimble stock traded down $0.25 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $78.63. 1,269,839 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,393,365. Trimble Inc. has a 12-month low of $48.65 and a 12-month high of $79.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $70.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.73. The company has a market cap of $18.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.83, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.67.

Trimble (NASDAQ:TRMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.01. Trimble had a net margin of 42.40% and a return on equity of 9.87%. The firm had revenue of $840.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $810.45 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Trimble Inc. will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kaigham Gabriel sold 6,511 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.69, for a total value of $466,773.59. Following the sale, the director directly owned 17,939 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,286,046.91. This represents a 26.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

About Trimble

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.