Lazard Asset Management LLC Acquires 19,395 Shares of Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI)

Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI - Free Report) by 276.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,408 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after buying an additional 19,395 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Itron worth $2,867,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ITRI. Burney Co. raised its holdings in Itron by 129.0% in the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 8,795 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $955,000 after buying an additional 4,955 shares during the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. increased its position in 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 valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Itron by 78.3% during the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,083 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $660,000 after purchasing an additional 2,671 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Itron during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $301,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in Itron by 45.9% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 16,674 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,810,000 after purchasing an additional 5,249 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.19% of the company's stock.

Itron Stock Down 1.7%

NASDAQ ITRI traded down $1.99 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $112.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 68,155 shares, compared to its average volume of 571,404. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $105.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.05. Itron, Inc. has a twelve month low of $90.11 and a twelve month high of $124.90. The company has a current ratio of 3.36, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.12, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.31.

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 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $608.86 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS. Itron's revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Itron, Inc. will post 5.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on ITRI. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price 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 set a $133.00 target price on shares of Itron in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price 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. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Itron from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Itron from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st. 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, Itron presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $127.36.

Insider Activity at Itron

In other Itron news, Director Mary C. Hemmingsen sold 750 shares of Itron stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.27, for a total transaction of $80,452.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at $603,930.10. The trade was a 11.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Christopher E. Ware sold 648 shares of Itron stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.90, for a total transaction of $60,199.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,326 shares in the company, valued at $1,888,285.40. This represents a 3.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,187 shares of company stock valued at $945,620. 1.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Itron 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.