2,535 Shares in Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) Purchased by Sowell Financial Services LLC

Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,535 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $266,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in Itron by 0.7% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 16,795 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,759,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its position in Itron by 25.5% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 616 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in Itron by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,144 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in Itron by 3.1% during the 4th 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. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Itron by 6.7% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 2,962 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. 96.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Itron

In related news, SVP Donald L. Reeves III sold 529 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.95, for a total transaction of $60,808.55. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,316,357.45. This represents a 2.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Christopher E. Ware sold 339 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.95, for a total value of $38,968.05. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,468 shares in the company, valued at $2,237,846.60. The trade was a 1.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,905 shares of company stock worth $2,439,202 in the last 90 days. 1.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ITRI shares. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Itron from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Itron from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Itron from $130.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $133.00 price objective on shares of Itron in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Itron from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, June 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $128.18.

Itron Trading Up 0.2%

Itron stock traded up $0.32 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $128.12. The stock had a trading volume of 200,808 shares, compared to its average volume of 562,999. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.84 billion, a PE ratio of 23.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.33. Itron, Inc. has a twelve month low of $90.11 and a twelve month high of $129.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 1.93. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $113.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.10.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.22. Itron had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 19.65%. The business had revenue of $607.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $608.86 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Itron, Inc. will post 5.33 EPS for the current year.

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.