AQR Capital Management LLC Raises Position in Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI)

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI - Free Report) by 49.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 152,789 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after buying an additional 50,693 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.34% of Itron worth $16,590,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ITRI. GeoWealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Itron by 4,580.0% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 234 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Itron during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in Itron in the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Itron by 154.9% in the 4th quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 864 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Itron by 347.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 886 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 688 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Christopher E. Ware sold 648 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.90, for a total value of $60,199.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,888,285.40. This trade represents a 3.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mary C. Hemmingsen sold 750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.27, for a total transaction of $80,452.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $603,930.10. This represents a 11.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,187 shares of company stock valued at $945,620 in the last 90 days. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ITRI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Itron from $130.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of Itron from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Itron from $124.00 to $121.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $133.00 target price on shares of Itron in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Itron from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Itron presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $127.36.

Itron Stock Up 1.5 %

ITRI traded up $1.56 during trading on Thursday, reaching $107.87. The stock had a trading volume of 687,304 shares, compared to its average volume of 568,306. Itron, Inc. has a one year low of $90.11 and a one year high of $124.90. The company has a market capitalization of $4.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.31. The stock's 50 day moving average is $104.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.52. The company has a current ratio of 3.36, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $607.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $608.86 million. Itron had a net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 19.03%. Itron's revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.24 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Itron, Inc. will post 5.33 earnings per share for the current 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.