58,927 Shares in Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (NASDAQ:ITRN) Acquired by ARK Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• ARK Investment Management LLC has invested approximately $2.13 million in Ituran Location and Control Ltd., acquiring 58,927 shares which represents about 0.30% ownership of the company.
• Other institutional investors such as California State Teachers Retirement System and UBS AM have also increased their stakes in Ituran Location and Control, indicating growing interest in the company.
• Ituran recently reported earnings exceeding estimates, with a net margin of 16.35% and a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, yielding a total annualized dividend of $2.00.

ARK Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (NASDAQ:ITRN - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 58,927 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $2,131,000. ARK Investment Management LLC owned 0.30% of Ituran Location and Control at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ituran Location and Control in the first quarter worth about $54,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Ituran Location and Control during the 4th quarter worth $178,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Ituran Location and Control in the fourth quarter worth $223,000. GeoWealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ituran Location and Control by 7,556.8% during the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 7,274 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 7,179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans bought a new position in Ituran Location and Control during the fourth quarter valued at about $229,000. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded Ituran Location and Control from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th.

Ituran Location and Control Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of ITRN traded up $0.76 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $40.54. 32,810 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 135,087. Ituran Location and Control Ltd. has a 52 week low of $25.09 and a 52 week high of $45.43. The firm has a market cap of $806.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.55 and a beta of 0.82. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $38.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.59.

Ituran Location and Control (NASDAQ:ITRN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The industrial products company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $86.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.47 million. Ituran Location and Control had a net margin of 16.35% and a return on equity of 29.19%.

Ituran Location and Control Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. Ituran Location and Control's dividend payout ratio is currently 71.94%.

Ituran Location and Control Company Profile

Ituran Location and Control Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides location based telematics services and machine-to-machine telematics products. It operates through two segments, Telematics Services and Telematics Products. The Telematics services segment offers stolen vehicle recovery and tracking services, which enables to locate, track, and recover stolen vehicles for its subscribers; fleet management services that enable corporate and individual customers to track and manage their vehicles in real time; and locator services that allow customers to protect valuable merchandise and equipment.