Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Lowers Position in Itron, Inc. $ITRI

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management cut its Itron stake by 54.4% in the first quarter, selling 154,538 shares and leaving it with 129,294 shares worth about $11.6 million.
• Itron reported strong quarterly earnings, posting $1.49 EPS versus $1.26 expected and revenue of $586.98 million, though sales were down 3.3% from a year earlier.
• Analysts remain generally positive on the stock, with a Moderate Buy consensus and average price target of $131.22, even as some firms recently trimmed their targets.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its position in Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI - Free Report) by 54.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 129,294 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 154,538 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.29% of Itron worth $11,589,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITRI. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Itron by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,271,042 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $118,034,000 after buying an additional 194,768 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Itron by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,144,982 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $106,340,000 after acquiring an additional 6,598 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Itron by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 793,175 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $73,654,000 after purchasing an additional 31,088 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Itron in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $63,990,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Itron by 42.5% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 604,580 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $75,306,000 after purchasing an additional 180,366 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.19% of the company's stock.

Itron Price Performance

ITRI opened at $83.87 on Friday. Itron, Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.77 and a 52-week high of $142.00. The company has a 50 day moving average of $83.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.39. The company has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.23. Itron had a return on equity of 19.54% and a net margin of 12.31%.The business had revenue of $586.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $572.04 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Itron has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.350 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Itron, Inc. will post 6.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP John F. Marcolini sold 322 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.37, for a total transaction of $27,167.14. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 24,689 shares in the company, valued at $2,083,010.93. This trade represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Donald L. Reeves III sold 319 shares of Itron stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.37, for a total value of $26,914.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 29,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,455,167. The trade was a 1.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 3,946 shares of company stock valued at $324,420 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Itron in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Itron in a report on Friday, May 8th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Itron from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Itron in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. They set an "underperform" rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Itron from $133.00 to $113.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $131.22.

About Itron

Itron, Inc NASDAQ: ITRI is a global technology company that develops innovative solutions to measure, manage and analyze the use of energy and water. Its comprehensive portfolio includes smart meters, data collection devices, communication networks and advanced software applications designed to optimize utility operations and foster sustainable resource management. The company's offerings enable utilities and cities to accurately monitor consumption patterns, streamline billing processes and improve grid reliability.

Itron's product lineup spans a range of hardware and software solutions, from residential and commercial smart meters to meter data management systems (MDMS), networked communication platforms and analytics tools.

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