Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Cuts Position in Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI)

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

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GeoWealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Itron by 4,580.0% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 234 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Itron during the 1st quarter valued at about $45,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Itron by 25.5% during the 4th 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. raised its holdings in shares of Itron by 98.0% during the 1st 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 purchased a new position in shares of Itron during the 4th quarter valued at about $220,000. Institutional investors own 96.19% of the company's stock.

Itron Stock Down 2.0%

Itron stock traded down $2.53 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $125.97. The company had a trading volume of 119,390 shares, compared to its average volume of 592,710. 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 stock's 50 day moving average price is $130.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $114.21. Itron, Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.11 and a 12 month high of $140.04. The company has a market capitalization of $5.76 billion, a PE ratio of 21.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.35.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI - Get Free Report) last announced 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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $606.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $610.36 million. Itron had a return on equity of 19.69% and a net margin of 11.05%. The company's quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.21 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Itron, Inc. will post 5.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Itron

In related news, SVP Christopher E. Ware sold 339 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.95, for a total transaction of $38,968.05. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 19,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,237,846.60. This represents a 1.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Donald L. Reeves III sold 529 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.95, for a total value of $60,808.55. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 20,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,316,357.45. The trade was a 2.56% 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 in the last 90 days. 1.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ITRI. Roth Capital raised their price objective on Itron from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Itron from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Itron from $124.00 to $121.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $155.00 price target (up from $133.00) on shares of Itron in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Itron from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $128.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $136.25.

About Itron

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.