Public Sector Pension Investment Board Sells 5,500 Shares of Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board lessened its stake in shares of Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 95,404 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 5,500 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned about 0.21% of Itron worth $10,190,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in Itron by 62.7% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 899,789 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $96,106,000 after buying an additional 346,615 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. increased its holdings in Itron by 86.2% during the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 603,877 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $59,760,000 after buying an additional 279,629 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Itron by 90.7% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 511,734 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $54,658,000 after buying an additional 243,355 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its holdings in Itron by 1.5% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 429,945 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $45,922,000 after buying an additional 6,310 shares during the period. Finally, Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Itron during the first quarter valued at approximately $401,000. Institutional investors own 96.19% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Thomas Deitrich sold 37,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.83, for a total value of $3,931,125.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 205,276 shares in the company, 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 can be accessed through this link. 1.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on ITRI. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Itron in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $133.00 price target on the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of Itron in a report on Friday, September 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $131.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Itron from $125.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Itron from $123.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of Itron from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Itron currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.92.

Itron Price Performance

Itron stock opened at $119.29 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.38 billion, a PE ratio of 24.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.46. Itron, Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.63 and a 52-week high of $124.90. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The company’s 50 day moving average is $110.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.21.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.71. The company had revenue of $615.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $596.41 million. Itron had a net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Itron, Inc. will post 5.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Itron Company 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.