Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) Shares Purchased by Invesco Ltd.

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Itron, Inc. by 2.7%, holding approximately 5.07% of the company with 2,310,769 shares valued at $242,076,000.
• Institutional investors own a significant majority of Itron, with 96.19% of the company's stock held by them, reflecting strong interest in the company.
• Analysts have given Itron an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target price of $136.25, indicating optimism about the company's future performance.

Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI - Free Report) by 2.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,310,769 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 59,962 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned about 5.07% of Itron worth $242,076,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ITRI. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Itron by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 35,076 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $3,809,000 after purchasing an additional 3,132 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Itron by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,726 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $513,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC grew its holdings in shares of Itron by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 3,448 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Itron in the fourth quarter worth about $229,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Itron by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 169,398 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $18,393,000 after acquiring an additional 1,594 shares in the last quarter. 96.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ITRI has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Itron from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $145.00 in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Itron from $124.00 to $121.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Itron from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Roth Capital raised their price target on shares of Itron from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Itron from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $136.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Justin K. Patrick sold 9,036 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.77, for a total value of $1,100,313.72. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 21,149 shares in the company, valued at $2,575,313.73. This trade represents a 29.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Joan S. Hooper sold 938 shares of Itron stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.95, for a total value of $107,823.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 89,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,272,391.80. This trade represents a 1.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,755 shares of company stock worth $1,879,397. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Itron Price Performance

ITRI traded down $3.13 on Thursday, hitting $125.37. 413,552 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 731,157. Itron, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $90.11 and a fifty-two week high of $140.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $130.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $114.34. The stock has a market cap of $5.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.35.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $606.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $610.36 million. Itron had a net margin of 11.05% and a return on equity of 19.69%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.21 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Itron, Inc. will post 5.33 earnings per share for the current 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.