Trimble (NASDAQ:TRMB) Given New $98.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. has increased Trimble's price target from $96.00 to $98.00, indicating a potential upside of 19.79% from its previous close.
• Trimble recently reported an EPS of $0.71, surpassing analyst expectations of $0.63, with a revenue of $875.70 million for the quarter, representing a year-over-year growth of 0.6%.
• Insider trading activity reveals that both the VP and CEO sold significant shares of the company, with insiders collectively selling 222,992 shares valued at approximately $18.6 million over the past three months.

Trimble (NASDAQ:TRMB - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $96.00 to $98.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the scientific and technical instruments company's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s target price would indicate a potential upside of 19.29% from the company's current price.

TRMB has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Trimble from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Trimble from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $93.00 price objective (up from $85.00) on shares of Trimble in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $90.75.

Trimble Stock Down 0.8%

TRMB stock traded down $0.63 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $82.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,167,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,562,506. The company's fifty day moving average price is $82.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.17. 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 has a twelve month low of $52.91 and a twelve month high of $87.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.82, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 1.66.

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 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 net margin of 8.02% and a return on equity of 10.24%. The company's quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.62 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Trimble will post 2.37 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Trimble

In other news, CEO Robert G. Painter sold 115,781 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.83, for a total transaction of $9,590,140.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 114,879 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,515,427.57. This represents a 50.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher F. Keating sold 7,365 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.74, for a total transaction of $602,015.10. Following the sale, the vice president owned 406 shares in the company, valued at $33,186.44. This represents a 94.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 230,357 shares of company stock valued at $19,181,521 over the last three months. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Trimble

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Trimble by 2.0% in the first 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 buying an additional 582,124 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Trimble by 2.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,908,124 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $828,799,000 after acquiring an additional 273,320 shares during the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP boosted its stake 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 in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Trimble by 26.1% during the first 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 worth $458,113,000 after buying an additional 1,445,851 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners grew its position in Trimble by 14.4% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,170,179 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $318,285,000 after acquiring an additional 525,214 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.21% 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.