Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Makes New $14.56 Million Investment in Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 134,122 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $14,563,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned 0.30% of Itron at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Itron by 4,580.0% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 234 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Itron by 25.5% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 616 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in Itron in the 4th quarter valued at $67,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Itron by 347.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 886 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 688 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Itron by 43.1% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,820 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $198,000 after buying an additional 548 shares in the last quarter. 96.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Itron

In related news, Director Mary C. Hemmingsen sold 5,150 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.70, for a total value of $559,805.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,482.40. This represents a 84.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Joan S. Hooper sold 938 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.95, for a total value of $107,823.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 89,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,272,391.80. This represents a 1.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,086 shares of company stock worth $897,298 over the last 90 days. 1.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $133.00 price objective on shares of Itron in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered Itron from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Itron from $124.00 to $121.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Itron from $130.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Itron from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $127.36.

Itron Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of ITRI stock traded up $3.04 on Tuesday, reaching $119.50. 528,096 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 579,059. The stock has a market cap of $5.45 billion, a PE ratio of 24.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.31. Itron, Inc. has a one year low of $90.11 and a one 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. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $107.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.65.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $607.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $608.86 million. Itron had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 9.37%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.24 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Itron, Inc. will post 5.33 EPS 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.