Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) Shares Sold by Neuberger Berman Group LLC

Key Points

• Neuberger Berman Group LLC reduced its stake in Itron, Inc. by 1.2%, now holding 395,144 shares valued at approximately $41.4 million.
• Itron recently reported earnings per share of $1.62, exceeding analysts' expectations, but experienced a slight revenue decline of 0.4% year-over-year.
• Analyst ratings for Itron show a consensus of 12 buy ratings and a "Moderate Buy" average, with a target price of $136.25.

Neuberger Berman Group LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI - Free Report) by 1.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 395,144 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 4,755 shares during the quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC owned approximately 0.87% of Itron worth $41,429,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new stake in shares of Itron in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,619,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Itron by 180.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 333,363 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $36,197,000 after purchasing an additional 214,600 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Itron in the 4th quarter valued at about $14,563,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Itron by 10,278.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 122,150 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $12,796,000 after acquiring an additional 120,973 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Itron by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 560,478 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $60,857,000 after acquiring an additional 99,142 shares during the last quarter. 96.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Itron

In other Itron news, CFO Joan S. Hooper sold 938 shares of the firm'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 $107,823.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 89,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,272,391.80. This trade represents a 1.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP John F. Marcolini sold 3,783 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.73, for a total value of $441,589.59. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 21,865 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 a total of 15,755 shares of company stock valued at $1,879,397 in the last ninety days. 1.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Itron Price Performance

NASDAQ ITRI traded up $0.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $126.28. The stock had a trading volume of 415,545 shares, compared to its average volume of 698,423. Itron, Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.11 and a 52-week high of $140.04. The company has a market cap of $5.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $130.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $114.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $606.76 million during 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%. Itron's revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.21 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Itron, Inc. will post 5.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on ITRI. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $155.00 price objective (up from $133.00) on shares of Itron in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Itron from $124.00 to $121.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen raised Itron from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Johnson Rice downgraded Itron from a "buy" rating to an "accumulate" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Itron from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $136.25.

Itron Company 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.