Vanguard Group Inc. Decreases Position in Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI)

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its stake in Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI - Free Report) by 2.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,742,985 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 148,881 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 12.60% of Itron worth $601,635,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Itron by 25.5% in the fourth 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 holdings in Itron by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,144 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Itron by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,726 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Itron by 7.3% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,345 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.19% of the company's stock.

Itron Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ ITRI opened at $128.50 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.04 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.97, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.35. Itron, Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.11 and a 52-week high of $140.04.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $606.76 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $610.36 million. Itron had a return on equity of 19.69% and a net margin of 11.05%. The business's quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.21 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Itron, Inc. will post 5.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on ITRI. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $155.00 price target (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Itron in a report on Monday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Itron from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $128.00 to $145.00 in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Stephens set a $130.00 price target on Itron in a report on Monday, August 4th. Roth Capital upped their price objective on Itron from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Itron from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $136.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Itron

In other news, SVP John F. Marcolini sold 3,783 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.73, for a total transaction of $441,589.59. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 21,865 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,552,301.45. This represents a 14.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Joan S. Hooper sold 938 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 $107,823.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 89,364 shares in the company, valued at $10,272,391.80. The trade was a 1.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 15,755 shares of company stock worth $1,879,397. Corporate insiders own 1.45% of the company's stock.

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.

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