Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Reduces Stock Position in Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV decreased its holdings in Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) by 29.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,445 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 1,900 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Itron were worth $483,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ITRI. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Itron by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 21,800 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,367,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Itron by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,185 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Itron by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,726 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $513,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Mariner LLC boosted its position in Itron by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 3,448 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $374,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its holdings in shares of Itron by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 3,081 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $369,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. 96.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Itron Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of ITRI stock opened at $115.10 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.36, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $104.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.76. Itron, Inc. has a twelve month low of $90.11 and a twelve month high of $124.90. The stock has a market cap of $5.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.59, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.31.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $607.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $608.86 million. Itron had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 9.37%. The company’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Itron, Inc. will post 5.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Itron from $124.00 to $121.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Itron from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target 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 lowered shares of Itron from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $133.00 target price on shares of Itron in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Itron currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.36.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mary C. Hemmingsen sold 5,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.70, for a total transaction of $559,805.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 952 shares in the company, valued at $103,482.40. This represents a 84.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Christopher E. Ware sold 648 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 $60,199.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,326 shares in the company, valued at $1,888,285.40. This represents a 3.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,187 shares of company stock valued at $945,620 in the last ninety days. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.