J.M. Arbour LLC Takes $881,000 Position in Ituran Location and Control Ltd. $ITRN

Key Points

• J.M. Arbour LLC bought a new stake in Ituran Location and Control worth about $881,000 (20,486 shares), and institutional investors now own roughly 94.8% of the company with several other funds also increasing positions.
• Ituran sharply raised its quarterly dividend from $0.50 to $1.50 (a $6.00 annualized payout), implying a 10.9% yield
• Wall Street sentiment is positive with a consensus Buy rating and a $60.67 target, while analysts' targets range up to $70 and several firms have recently initiated or raised coverage.

J.M. Arbour LLC purchased a new stake in Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (NASDAQ:ITRN - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 20,486 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $881,000. J.M. Arbour LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Ituran Location and Control as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITRN. Man Group plc lifted its stake in Ituran Location and Control by 90.8% in the second quarter. Man Group plc now owns 137,657 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,331,000 after acquiring an additional 65,502 shares during the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Ituran Location and Control in the third quarter worth approximately $1,911,000. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. grew its position in Ituran Location and Control by 29.1% in the third quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 230,308 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $8,227,000 after acquiring an additional 51,939 shares in the last quarter. Aristides Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Ituran Location and Control by 21.9% during the 3rd quarter. Aristides Capital LLC now owns 280,395 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $10,016,000 after purchasing an additional 50,421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Ituran Location and Control by 74.2% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 117,720 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,205,000 after purchasing an additional 50,127 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ITRN shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Ituran Location and Control in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Loop Capital set a $57.00 target price on shares of Ituran Location and Control in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Maxim Group started coverage on Ituran Location and Control in a report on Thursday, March 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on Ituran Location and Control from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Ituran Location and Control from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday, April 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $60.67.

Ituran Location and Control Trading Up 1.0%

NASDAQ ITRN opened at $54.92 on Friday. Ituran Location and Control Ltd. has a 1 year low of $32.38 and a 1 year high of $55.33. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.80. The company has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.87 and a beta of 0.66.

Ituran Location and Control (NASDAQ:ITRN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter. Ituran Location and Control had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 27.27%. The firm had revenue of $93.50 million for the quarter.

Ituran Location and Control Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 30th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 30th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.9%. This is a boost from Ituran Location and Control's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Ituran Location and Control's payout ratio is presently 206.19%.

Ituran Location and Control Profile

Ituran Location and Control Ltd. is a provider of wireless vehicle tracking and stolen vehicle recovery services. The company leverages a combination of cellular and global positioning system (GPS) technologies to offer real-time monitoring and location-based solutions for private vehicle owners, fleet operators and insurance companies. Its core offerings include subscription-based tracking devices, centralized control centers and software platforms that enable clients to detect unauthorized vehicle use, dispatch recovery teams and manage fleet logistics.

Founded in 1994 in Israel, Ituran pioneered the use of wireless communications for security and telematics applications.

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