Rafferty Asset Management LLC Has $4.55 Million Position in Trimble Inc. $TRMB

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Trimble Inc. by 16.7%, selling 13,859 shares during the first quarter, leaving it with approximately 69,279 shares valued at $4.55 million.
• Insider transactions included CEO Robert G. Painter selling 115,781 shares and VP Jennifer Allison selling 3,156 shares, collectively resulting in a significant decrease in their ownership positions.
• Several analysts raised their ratings and price targets for Trimble, with Wall Street Zen upgrading it to a "buy" and JPMorgan Chase increasing the target price from $95 to $96, indicating positive sentiment towards the stock.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its position in Trimble Inc. (NASDAQ:TRMB - Free Report) by 16.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 69,279 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 13,859 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Trimble were worth $4,548,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in TRMB. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of Trimble in the fourth quarter worth approximately $211,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Trimble by 39.8% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 70,107 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $4,954,000 after purchasing an additional 19,976 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC purchased a new position in Trimble during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,110,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Trimble in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Trimble in the 4th quarter worth approximately $354,000. 93.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trimble Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TRMB traded down $1.39 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $80.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,210,105 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,759,093. 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $80.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.67, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.66. Trimble Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $52.91 and a fifty-two week high of $87.50.

Trimble (NASDAQ:TRMB - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Trimble had a return on equity of 10.24% and a net margin of 8.02%.The company had revenue of $875.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $835.81 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.62 earnings per share. Trimble's revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Trimble Inc. will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert G. Painter sold 115,781 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,515,427.57. This represents a 50.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Mark David Schwartz sold 1,404 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $112,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 222,383 shares of company stock valued at $18,529,318. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.