Oberweis Asset Management Inc. Acquires 12,200 Shares of Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI)

Oberweis Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI - Free Report) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 199,110 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,200 shares during the quarter. Itron makes up approximately 1.0% of Oberweis Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Oberweis Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.44% of Itron worth $21,619,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ITRI. Hancock Whitney Corp purchased a new stake in Itron in the 4th quarter worth approximately $220,000. Voya Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Itron by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 98,856 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $10,734,000 after purchasing an additional 10,673 shares during the period. Quantessence Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Itron during the 4th quarter valued at $295,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in Itron by 2,000.4% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,986 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $650,000 after buying an additional 5,701 shares during the period. Finally, Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Itron by 47.8% in the 4th quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,499 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $489,000 after buying an additional 1,454 shares in the last quarter. 96.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Itron Price Performance

Shares of Itron stock traded up $1.23 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $110.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 88,947 shares, compared to its average volume of 571,753. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 3.36 and a quick ratio of 2.83. Itron, Inc. has a one year low of $90.03 and a one year high of $124.90. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $103.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.44. The stock has a market cap of $5.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.39.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Itron news, CFO Joan S. Hooper sold 2,322 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.90, for a total transaction of $215,713.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 92,076 shares in the company, valued at $8,553,860.40. The trade was a 2.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO David Marshall Wright sold 317 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.90, for a total transaction of $29,449.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,108 shares of the company's stock, valued at $753,233.20. This trade represents a 3.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,037 shares of company stock valued at $385,815 over the last ninety days. 1.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ITRI. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Itron from $130.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Itron from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 1st. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Itron from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Itron from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $133.00 target price on shares of Itron in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $127.64.

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.