Private Advisor Group LLC Purchases Shares of 13,189 Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI)

Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 13,189 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $996,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its stake in shares of Itron by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 31,458 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,375,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Itron by 1.4% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 12,933 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $783,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Itron by 0.4% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 41,337 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,504,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Pathstone Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Itron by 2.0% during the third quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 9,275 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $562,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Itron by 1.2% in the third quarter. Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc now owns 18,882 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,144,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the period. 96.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ITRI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. TheStreet raised shares of Itron from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Itron from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Itron from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Itron from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.18.

Itron Stock Performance

Itron stock opened at $108.62 on Friday. Itron, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $56.11 and a fifty-two week high of $109.97. The stock has a market cap of $4.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.21, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $94.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.90.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $603.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $579.49 million. Itron had a return on equity of 14.51% and a net margin of 7.03%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Itron, Inc. will post 3.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Itron

In other Itron news, CFO Joan S. Hooper sold 1,560 shares of the company’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 $117,577.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 60,141 shares in the company, valued at $4,532,827.17. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Joan S. Hooper sold 1,560 shares of Itron 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 $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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Christopher E. Ware sold 311 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.84, for a total value of $33,227.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,371 shares in the company, valued at $1,642,237.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,778 shares of company stock valued at $2,785,748 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

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.