Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Trimble Put Options (NASDAQ:TRMB)

Key Points

• Unusual Options Trading: Trimble Inc. saw a significant spike in trading activity with over 8,500 put options purchased, a 3,287% increase from its average volume of 251 put options.
• Stock Performance: Trimble's stock decreased by 0.9% on the same day, closing at $79.20, with a total of 238,938 shares traded, significantly lower than its average volume.
• Analyst Ratings: Analysts have raised their price targets for Trimble, with Raymond James setting a new target of $93 and Oppenheimer increasing theirs to $94, suggesting strong market confidence in the company's performance.

Trimble Inc. (NASDAQ:TRMB - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 8,502 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 3,287% compared to the average volume of 251 put options.

Trimble Stock Down 0.9%

TRMB traded down $0.68 on Thursday, hitting $79.20. 238,938 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,552,366. The company has a market cap of $18.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 1.66. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $82.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $73.36. Trimble 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 results on Wednesday, August 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.08. The company 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%.Trimble's revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.62 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Trimble will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Mark David Schwartz sold 1,476 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.00, for a total value of $115,128.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 22,405 shares in the company, valued at $1,747,590. This trade represents a 6.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director James Calvin Dalton sold 609 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.41, for a total value of $50,187.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 13,809 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,137,999.69. This trade represents a 4.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 230,357 shares of company stock valued at $19,181,521. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Trimble

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Trimble by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,288,658 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,988,450,000 after purchasing an additional 582,124 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Trimble by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,908,124 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $828,799,000 after purchasing an additional 273,320 shares during the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Trimble by 19.1% in the 2nd quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 9,019,663 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $685,314,000 after purchasing an additional 1,449,315 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Trimble by 26.1% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 6,978,106 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $458,113,000 after purchasing an additional 1,445,851 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Trimble by 14.4% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,170,179 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $318,285,000 after purchasing an additional 525,214 shares during the last quarter. 93.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on TRMB shares. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $93.00 price objective (up previously from $85.00) on shares of Trimble in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Trimble from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Trimble from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and seven have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target 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.

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