Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) Shares Sold by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Key Points

• Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its stake in Itron, Inc. by 13.5%, now holding 13,138 shares worth approximately $1.38 million.
• Research analysts have expressed varied opinions on Itron's stock, with 12 analysts rating it as a "buy" and an average price target of $136.25.
• Itron recently reported quarterly earnings of $1.62 EPS, surpassing expectations, although its revenue decreased by 0.4% year-over-year.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System cut its stake in Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI - Free Report) by 13.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,138 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 2,047 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Itron were worth $1,376,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Itron by 4,580.0% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 234 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Itron in the first quarter worth approximately $45,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its position in Itron by 25.5% during the fourth 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. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Itron by 98.0% during the first quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,711 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $179,000 after buying an additional 847 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp acquired a new position in Itron during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $220,000. 96.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ITRI shares. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Itron from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Roth Capital lifted their price target on shares of Itron from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Johnson Rice cut shares of Itron from a "buy" rating to an "accumulate" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $155.00 target price (up from $133.00) on shares of Itron in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Itron from $124.00 to $121.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Itron presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $136.25.

Itron Trading Up 0.6%

ITRI opened at $125.48 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.74 billion, a PE ratio of 21.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.35. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $129.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $113.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.75. Itron, Inc. has a 12-month low of $90.11 and a 12-month high of $140.04.

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

Insider Activity

In other Itron news, SVP Justin K. Patrick sold 9,036 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.77, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 29.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP John F. Marcolini sold 3,783 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.73, for a total transaction of $441,589.59. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 21,865 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,552,301.45. The trade was a 14.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,755 shares of company stock valued at $1,879,397 over the last quarter. 1.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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