Ituran Location and Control Ltd. $ITRN Stock Position Lifted by Navellier & Associates Inc.

Navellier & Associates Inc. raised its stake in Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (NASDAQ:ITRN) by 286.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 51,056 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 37,849 shares during the quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Ituran Location and Control were worth $3,115,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ituran Location and Control by 909.3% during the 4th quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 539,817 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $23,218,000 after buying an additional 486,331 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC increased its stake in shares of Ituran Location and Control by 721.6% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 104,190 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,481,000 after acquiring an additional 91,509 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Global Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ituran Location and Control by 106.4% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Global Advisors LLC now owns 132,325 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,691,000 after acquiring an additional 68,222 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc raised its holdings in shares of Ituran Location and Control by 90.8% during the second quarter. Man Group plc now owns 137,657 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,331,000 after acquiring an additional 65,502 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ituran Location and Control by 71.1% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 125,478 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,397,000 after acquiring an additional 52,150 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Ituran Location and Control Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of ITRN opened at $50.78 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.67 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s fifty day moving average is $55.58 and its 200-day moving average is $55.22. Ituran Location and Control Ltd. has a 12 month low of $32.71 and a 12 month high of $68.30.

Ituran Location and Control (NASDAQ:ITRN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The industrial products company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $104.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.84 million. Ituran Location and Control had a return on equity of 29.03% and a net margin of 16.28%. As a group, research analysts predict that Ituran Location and Control Ltd. will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ituran Location and Control Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 29th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 29th. Ituran Location and Control’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on ITRN. Zacks Research upgraded Ituran Location and Control to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Ituran Location and Control from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ituran Location and Control in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Ituran Location and Control from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.67.

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.