Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (NASDAQ:ITRN) Stake Increased by Ibex Investors LLC

Key Points

• Ibex Investors LLC increased its stake in Ituran Location and Control Ltd. by 1.8%, owning 876,313 shares, which represents approximately 42.1% of its portfolio, valued at around $31.69 million.
• Wall Street analysts have downgraded Ituran's rating from "strong-buy" to "buy", reflecting a shift in sentiment about the stock's performance potential.
• Ituran recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50, yielding 4.91% annually, with a current dividend payout ratio of 71.94%.

Ibex Investors LLC increased its position in Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (NASDAQ:ITRN - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 876,313 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 15,267 shares during the period. Ituran Location and Control comprises approximately 42.1% of Ibex Investors LLC's holdings, making the stock its largest position. Ibex Investors LLC owned 4.40% of Ituran Location and Control worth $31,687,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ituran Location and Control during the 1st quarter valued at about $54,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Ituran Location and Control during the 4th quarter valued at about $178,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Ituran Location and Control during the 4th quarter valued at about $223,000. GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ituran Location and Control by 7,556.8% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 7,274 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 7,179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans bought a new position in shares of Ituran Location and Control during the 4th quarter valued at about $229,000. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company's stock.

Ituran Location and Control Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ITRN traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $40.50. 95,577 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 77,276. The company's 50-day moving average is $38.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.57. The company has a market capitalization of $805.55 million, a P/E ratio of 14.57 and a beta of 0.82. Ituran Location and Control Ltd. has a 1 year low of $25.09 and a 1 year high of $45.43.

Ituran Location and Control (NASDAQ:ITRN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The industrial products company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $86.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. Ituran Location and Control's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

About Ituran Location and Control

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.