Erste Asset Management GmbH Takes Position in Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI)

Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 359,229 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,534,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH owned 0.80% of Itron as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Itron by 85.6% in the second quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 271 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its holdings in Itron by 53.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 352 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Itron by 26.1% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 536 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Itron by 46.6% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 720 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Itron by 21.7% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 724 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ITRI. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on Itron in a research note on Friday, September 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $131.00 price objective for the company. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Itron in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $133.00 price objective on the stock. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Itron from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Itron from $123.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Itron in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.92.

Insider Transactions at Itron

In other Itron news, CEO Thomas Deitrich sold 37,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.83, for a total transaction of $3,931,125.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 205,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,519,083.08. This trade represents a 15.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Itron Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ITRI opened at $118.53 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $110.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.38. The company has a market cap of $5.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.29, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.46. Itron, Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.81 and a 1 year high of $124.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 3.36 and a quick ratio of 2.83.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.71. Itron had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 9.37%. The firm had revenue of $615.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $596.41 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Itron, Inc. will post 5.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Itron 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.