Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Decreases Position in Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lessened its holdings in shares of Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,534 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 210 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Itron were worth $1,248,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ITRI. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Itron in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Itron by 9,150.0% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 555 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Itron in the 4th quarter worth $50,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Itron in the 4th quarter worth $169,000. Finally, Xponance Inc. purchased a new position in Itron in the 4th quarter worth $208,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.19% of the company’s stock.

Itron Price Performance

NASDAQ:ITRI opened at $109.06 on Thursday. Itron, Inc. has a 52 week low of $56.11 and a 52 week high of $109.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.00 billion, a PE ratio of 31.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $92.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.56.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.39. Itron had a return on equity of 14.51% and a net margin of 7.03%. The company had revenue of $603.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $579.49 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. Itron’s revenue was up 22.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Itron, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jerome J. Lande sold 14,896 shares of Itron stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.25, for a total value of $1,418,844.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $547,687.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Jerome J. Lande sold 14,896 shares of Itron stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.25, for a total value of $1,418,844.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $547,687.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Joan S. Hooper sold 1,560 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 $117,577.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 60,141 shares in the company, valued at $4,532,827.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 30,467 shares of company stock worth $2,752,520. Insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Roth Mkm raised their target price on Itron from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. TD Cowen increased their price target on Itron from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Itron from $77.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $109.00 price target (up from $103.00) on shares of Itron in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Itron from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Itron currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $104.18.

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.