KBC Group NV Trims Stake in Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI)

KBC Group NV lessened its stake in Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) by 26.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 146,222 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 52,006 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Itron were worth $15,618,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ITRI. Saturna Capital Corp grew its position in Itron by 6.1% during the third quarter. Saturna Capital Corp now owns 7,213 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $770,000 after buying an additional 413 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Itron by 41.6% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 283,728 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $30,305,000 after acquiring an additional 83,328 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Itron during the 3rd quarter valued at about $502,000. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Itron in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,891,000. Finally, Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Itron by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. now owns 21,664 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,314,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Itron

In other Itron news, CFO Joan S. Hooper sold 509 shares of Itron stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.15, for a total value of $51,994.35. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 72,338 shares in the company, valued at $7,389,326.70. The trade was a 0.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Thomas Deitrich sold 887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.15, for a total value of $90,607.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 205,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,968,943.40. The trade was a 0.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 43,276 shares of company stock valued at $4,517,947. 1.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Itron Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of Itron stock opened at $114.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 3.36 and a quick ratio of 2.83. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $107.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.45. The stock has a market cap of $5.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.46. Itron, Inc. has a 1-year low of $64.96 and a 1-year high of $124.90.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.71. Itron had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 9.37%. The company had revenue of $615.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $596.41 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.98 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Itron, Inc. will post 5.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ITRI. Guggenheim increased their price target on Itron from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Itron from $125.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Itron from $123.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Itron in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Itron in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $133.00 target price on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.92.

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.