Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Decreases Stock Holdings in Trimble Inc. $TRMB

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership reduced its holdings in shares of Trimble Inc. (NASDAQ:TRMB) by 26.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 400,697 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 141,805 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned approximately 0.17% of Trimble worth $30,445,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Trimble by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,288,658 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,988,450,000 after buying an additional 582,124 shares during the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP increased its position in Trimble by 19.1% in the second quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 9,019,663 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $685,314,000 after buying an additional 1,449,315 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $458,113,000 after buying an additional 1,445,851 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake 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 valued at $318,285,000 after buying an additional 525,214 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Trimble by 9.7% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,840,550 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $252,132,000 after acquiring an additional 339,750 shares during the period. 93.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trimble Trading Up 1.5%

Trimble stock opened at $83.52 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.21, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.60. Trimble Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.91 and a 52 week high of $87.50.

Trimble (NASDAQ:TRMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter. Trimble had a net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 10.73%. The business had revenue of $856.50 million for the quarter. Analysts expect that Trimble Inc. will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Trimble declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Friday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the scientific and technical instruments company to purchase up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on TRMB shares. Barclays assumed coverage on Trimble in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. Berenberg Bank set a $95.00 price objective on Trimble and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Trimble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Zacks Research upgraded Trimble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Trimble in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.18.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kaigham Gabriel sold 1,718 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total transaction of $139,158.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 15,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,228,770. This represents a 10.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director James Calvin Dalton sold 616 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total transaction of $50,505.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 13,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,081,694.07. This trade represents a 4.46% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 24,699 shares of company stock worth $1,955,304. 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.