Graham Capital Management L.P. Reduces Position in Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI)

Graham Capital Management L.P. cut its position in shares of Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI - Free Report) by 34.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,441 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 5,570 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in Itron were worth $1,134,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Itron by 4,580.0% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 234 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Itron during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Itron during the 4th quarter worth about $67,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Itron by 25.5% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 616 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Contravisory Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Itron by 154.9% during the 4th quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 864 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the period. 96.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Itron Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:ITRI traded up $0.62 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $114.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 301,791 shares, compared to its average volume of 572,212. Itron, Inc. has a 52 week low of $90.11 and a 52 week high of $124.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 3.36 and a quick ratio of 2.83. The company has a market capitalization of $5.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.31. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $105.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $107.94.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.22. Itron had a net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The business had revenue of $607.15 million during 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 company's quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Itron, Inc. will post 5.33 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ITRI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Itron from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 1st. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Itron from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Itron from $130.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $133.00 price objective on shares of Itron in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Itron from $124.00 to $121.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $127.36.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO David Marshall Wright sold 317 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.90, for a total transaction of $29,449.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,108 shares in the company, valued at $753,233.20. The trade was a 3.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Mary C. Hemmingsen sold 750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.27, for a total transaction of $80,452.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $603,930.10. This trade represents a 11.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,187 shares of company stock worth $945,620. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.