PGGM Investments Sells 57,817 Shares of Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI)

PGGM Investments lowered its position in Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI - Free Report) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 885,474 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 57,817 shares during the period. Itron comprises 1.0% of PGGM Investments' holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. PGGM Investments owned 1.95% of Itron worth $66,862,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Itron by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,668,071 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $343,372,000 after buying an additional 142,564 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of Itron by 51.6% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 47,621 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $3,596,000 after buying an additional 16,208 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP increased its position in shares of Itron by 48.8% in the 3rd quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 57,431 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $3,479,000 after buying an additional 18,842 shares in the last quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Itron in the 4th quarter valued at $210,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in Itron by 495.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 21,086 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,280,000 after purchasing an additional 17,547 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.19% of the company's stock.

Itron Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ITRI traded up $1.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $95.75. The stock had a trading volume of 374,012 shares, compared to its average volume of 372,381. Itron, Inc. has a twelve month low of $50.97 and a twelve month high of $97.84. The stock has a market cap of $4.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.60, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.41. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $89.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.95.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.48. Itron had a net margin of 4.46% and a return on equity of 12.27%. The business had revenue of $577.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $569.90 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.71 EPS. Itron's revenue was up 23.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Itron, Inc. will post 3.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on ITRI. TheStreet upgraded Itron from a "c" rating to a "b-" rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Itron from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Itron from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Oppenheimer upgraded Itron from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $81.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Itron from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $97.60.

Insider Activity at Itron

In related news, SVP Donald L. Reeves III sold 383 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total value of $28,866.71. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $656,321.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Itron news, SVP Donald L. Reeves III sold 383 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total transaction of $28,866.71. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,708 shares in the company, valued at $656,321.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Thomas Deitrich sold 1,912 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total transaction of $144,107.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 169,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,743,032.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,467 shares of company stock worth $2,752,520. 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.