Ituran Location and Control Ltd. $ITRN Shares Sold by Trexquant Investment LP

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP reduced its stake in Ituran Location and Control Ltd. by 40% in the first quarter, now owning approximately 0.11% of the company worth $827,000.
• Ituran Location and Control reported a missed earnings estimate of $0.67 per share compared to the expected $0.73, alongside revenues of $86.79 million against an expectation of $89.17 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, representing a yield of 5.9% with a payout ratio of 71.68%.

Trexquant Investment LP reduced its position in Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (NASDAQ:ITRN - Free Report) by 40.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,863 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 15,213 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned about 0.11% of Ituran Location and Control worth $827,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in Ituran Location and Control in the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new stake in Ituran Location and Control in the 1st quarter valued at $54,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Ituran Location and Control in the 4th quarter valued at $178,000. American Century Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in Ituran Location and Control in the 1st quarter valued at $209,000. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. purchased a new stake in Ituran Location and Control in the 1st quarter valued at $251,000. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut Ituran Location and Control from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.00.

Ituran Location and Control Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ITRN traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $34.97. 80,863 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 165,689. The firm has a market capitalization of $695.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.53 and a beta of 0.87. Ituran Location and Control Ltd. has a 52-week low of $25.86 and a 52-week high of $45.43. The company's 50-day moving average is $38.16 and its 200-day moving average is $37.13.

Ituran Location and Control (NASDAQ:ITRN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 19th. The industrial products company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $86.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $89.17 million. Ituran Location and Control had a return on equity of 28.24% and a net margin of 16.35%.

Ituran Location and Control Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 25th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.7%. Ituran Location and Control's dividend payout ratio is currently 71.68%.

Ituran Location and Control Profile

Ituran Location and Control Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides location based telematics services and machine-to-machine telematics products. It operates through two segments, Telematics Services and Telematics Products. The Telematics services segment offers stolen vehicle recovery and tracking services, which enables to locate, track, and recover stolen vehicles for its subscribers; fleet management services that enable corporate and individual customers to track and manage their vehicles in real time; and locator services that allow customers to protect valuable merchandise and equipment.