Strategic Global Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Ituran Location and Control Ltd. $ITRN

Strategic Global Advisors LLC grew its position in Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (NASDAQ:ITRN) by 106.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 132,325 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 68,222 shares during the quarter. Strategic Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ituran Location and Control were worth $5,691,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Ituran Location and Control by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 858,274 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,236,000 after buying an additional 39,718 shares during the period. J.M. Arbour LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ituran Location and Control in the 4th quarter worth $881,000. CSM Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ituran Location and Control by 30.2% in the 3rd quarter. CSM Advisors LLC now owns 125,435 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,480,000 after buying an additional 29,090 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ituran Location and Control in the 3rd quarter worth $1,911,000. Finally, Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ituran Location and Control in the 4th quarter worth $689,000. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ITRN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Zacks Research raised Ituran Location and Control to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Maxim Group initiated coverage on Ituran Location and Control in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ituran Location and Control in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Loop Capital set a $57.00 price target on Ituran Location and Control in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ituran Location and Control in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.67.

Ituran Location and Control Stock Performance

ITRN opened at $66.32 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.89 and a beta of 0.77. Ituran Location and Control Ltd. has a 12 month low of $32.71 and a 12 month high of $68.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $58.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.21.

Ituran Location and Control (NASDAQ:ITRN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $102.67 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $95.32 million. Ituran Location and Control had a return on equity of 27.70% and a net margin of 16.03%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ituran Location and Control Ltd. will post 3.5 EPS for the current year.

Ituran Location and Control Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 24th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 24th. Ituran Location and Control’s dividend payout ratio is currently 198.02%.

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.