Private Advisor Group LLC Makes New $996,000 Investment in Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI)

Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 13,189 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $996,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ITRI. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Itron by 517.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 246,688 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $14,944,000 after acquiring an additional 206,729 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Itron by 2.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,668,071 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $343,372,000 after purchasing an additional 142,564 shares in the last quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. grew its stake in Itron by 140.6% in the fourth quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. now owns 216,188 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $16,324,000 after purchasing an additional 126,328 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its holdings in Itron by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 804,648 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $60,759,000 after purchasing an additional 110,849 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Itron during the third quarter valued at about $5,565,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.19% of the company’s stock.

Itron Price Performance

Itron stock opened at $108.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.90. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $94.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.38. Itron, Inc. has a 1 year low of $56.11 and a 1 year high of $109.97.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.39. Itron had a net margin of 7.03% and a return on equity of 14.51%. The business had revenue of $603.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $579.49 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Itron, Inc. will post 3.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ITRI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Itron from $77.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Itron from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Itron from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Itron from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised Itron from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $68.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $104.18.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Itron news, Director Jerome J. Lande sold 14,896 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.25, for a total transaction of $1,418,844.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $547,687.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Itron news, Director Jerome J. Lande sold 14,896 shares of Itron stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.25, for a total transaction of $1,418,844.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $547,687.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Joan S. Hooper sold 1,560 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total transaction of $117,577.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 60,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,532,827.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 30,778 shares of company stock worth $2,785,748. Insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Itron Company Profile

Itron, Inc, a technology, solutions, and service company, provides end-to-end solutions that help manage energy, water, and smart city operations worldwide. It operates in three segments: Device Solutions, Networked Solutions, and Outcomes. The Device Solutions segment offers hardware products that are used for measurement, control, or sensing, such as standard gas, electricity, water, and communicating meters, as well as heat and allocation products.