Park Avenue Securities LLC Invests $356,000 in Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI)

Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new position in Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,395 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $356,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Itron by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 802,584 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $87,145,000 after buying an additional 66,637 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Itron during the fourth quarter valued at $64,615,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Itron by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 572,266 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $62,137,000 after purchasing an additional 58,546 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Itron by 21.5% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 560,478 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $60,857,000 after purchasing an additional 99,142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Itron by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 536,288 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $58,233,000 after purchasing an additional 12,810 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Justin K. Patrick sold 9,036 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.77, for a total transaction of $1,100,313.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 21,149 shares in the company, valued at $2,575,313.73. This trade represents a 29.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Mary C. Hemmingsen sold 5,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.70, for a total value of $559,805.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $103,482.40. This trade represents a 84.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,905 shares of company stock worth $2,439,202 in the last 90 days. 1.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Itron from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 1st. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Itron from $124.00 to $121.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Itron from $130.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Itron from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $133.00 target price on shares of Itron in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.36.

Itron Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ITRI opened at $121.96 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 3.36. The firm has a market cap of $5.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.33. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $110.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.82. Itron, Inc. has a 52 week low of $90.11 and a 52 week high of $124.90.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.22. Itron had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 9.37%. The company had revenue of $607.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $608.86 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.24 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Itron, Inc. will post 5.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Itron

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.