Trimble Inc. $TRMB Stock Position Raised by UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC

Key Points

• UBS AM increased its stake in Trimble Inc. by 26.1%, owning approximately 6.98 million shares valued at $458.11 million as of its recent SEC filing.
• Trimble's quarterly earnings surpassed expectations, reporting $0.71 earnings per share and revenues of $875.70 million, up from the previous year.
• Recent analyst reports have raised price targets for Trimble, with JPMorgan Chase increasing theirs to $96.00, reflecting a general positive sentiment about the company's stock.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Trimble Inc. (NASDAQ:TRMB - Free Report) by 26.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,978,106 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,445,851 shares during the quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned approximately 2.92% of Trimble worth $458,113,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its holdings in shares of Trimble by 174.9% during the first quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 558 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Trimble during the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of Trimble during the first quarter worth about $58,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Trimble by 153.5% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 976 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 591 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial grew its holdings in shares of Trimble by 64.7% during the first quarter. Friedenthal Financial now owns 1,153 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.21% of the company's stock.

Trimble Trading Down 2.4%

TRMB stock traded down $1.97 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $80.88. The stock had a trading volume of 1,027,635 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,424,147. The firm has a market cap of $19.25 billion, a PE ratio of 69.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Trimble Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.91 and a 12-month high of $87.50. The company's 50-day moving average price is $81.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.73.

Trimble (NASDAQ:TRMB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.08. The firm 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%. Trimble's revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.62 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Trimble Inc. will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price 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. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Trimble from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $93.00 target price (up previously from $85.00) on shares of Trimble in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Trimble from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and seven have issued a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Trimble presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $90.50.

Insider Activity

In other Trimble news, CEO Robert G. Painter sold 115,781 shares of Trimble stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 114,879 shares in the company, valued at $9,515,427.57. This trade represents a 50.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Jennifer Allison sold 3,156 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $252,480.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $230,560. This trade represents a 52.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 222,992 shares of company stock valued at $18,579,506 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

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.