Aristides Capital LLC Boosts Stock Position in Ituran Location and Control Ltd. $ITRN

Aristides Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (NASDAQ:ITRN) by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 280,395 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 50,421 shares during the quarter. Ituran Location and Control makes up 1.4% of Aristides Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Aristides Capital LLC owned about 1.41% of Ituran Location and Control worth $10,016,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITRN. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of Ituran Location and Control by 327.2% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,226 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 939 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Ituran Location and Control during the third quarter worth approximately $47,000. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ituran Location and Control by 750.0% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Ituran Location and Control by 77.0% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,710 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 744 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Ituran Location and Control during the third quarter worth approximately $63,000. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Loop Capital set a $57.00 price target on Ituran Location and Control in a report on Monday. Barclays increased their price objective on Ituran Location and Control from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ituran Location and Control in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ituran Location and Control from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Maxim Group began coverage on shares of Ituran Location and Control in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.67.

Ituran Location and Control Trading Down 1.1%

NASDAQ:ITRN opened at $49.43 on Friday. Ituran Location and Control Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $30.06 and a fifty-two week high of $51.33. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $46.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.92.

Ituran Location and Control (NASDAQ:ITRN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $93.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $93.30 million. Ituran Location and Control had a return on equity of 27.27% and a net margin of 16.15%.

Ituran Location and Control Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 30th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 30th. This is a boost from Ituran Location and Control’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Ituran Location and Control’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.73%.

Ituran Location and Control Company Profile

Ituran Location and Control Ltd. is a provider of wireless vehicle tracking and stolen vehicle recovery services. The company leverages a combination of cellular and global positioning system (GPS) technologies to offer real-time monitoring and location-based solutions for private vehicle owners, fleet operators and insurance companies. Its core offerings include subscription-based tracking devices, centralized control centers and software platforms that enable clients to detect unauthorized vehicle use, dispatch recovery teams and manage fleet logistics.

Founded in 1994 in Israel, Ituran pioneered the use of wireless communications for security and telematics applications.