Trimble Inc. (NASDAQ:TRMB) Short Interest Update

Trimble Inc. (NASDAQ:TRMB) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,300,000 shares, a growth of 45.3% from the February 28th total of 2,960,000 shares. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,530,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Trimble Stock Performance

Trimble stock opened at $65.52 on Friday. Trimble has a 52-week low of $48.65 and a 52-week high of $77.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $72.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Trimble news, Director James Calvin Dalton sold 2,141 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.79, for a total value of $153,702.39. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,162 shares in the company, valued at $729,529.98. This trade represents a 17.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Jennifer Allison sold 3,571 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.75, for a total transaction of $266,932.25. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,157 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $235,985.75. This represents a 53.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,421 shares of company stock valued at $831,683. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Trimble

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Trimble during the third quarter worth approximately $194,000. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Trimble by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 5,298 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in Trimble by 46.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 337,307 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $20,795,000 after purchasing an additional 107,645 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Trimble by 20.3% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 185,151 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $11,496,000 after purchasing an additional 31,286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in Trimble by 12.8% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 10,584 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $657,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on TRMB. Wolfe Research raised Trimble from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. StockNews.com lowered Trimble from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Trimble from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $74.00 to $92.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Trimble from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Trimble from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Trimble currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $86.00.

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.