Swiss National Bank Trims Stake in Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI)

Swiss National Bank decreased its holdings in shares of Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) by 0.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 89,600 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Itron were worth $9,570,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Itron during the first quarter worth $401,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in Itron by 62.7% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 899,789 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $96,106,000 after buying an additional 346,615 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. increased its position in shares of Itron by 86.2% during the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 603,877 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $59,760,000 after acquiring an additional 279,629 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Itron by 90.7% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 511,734 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $54,658,000 after acquiring an additional 243,355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hood River Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Itron in the second quarter valued at approximately $22,612,000. 96.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Itron Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of ITRI stock opened at $118.93 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $109.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $104.97. Itron, Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.42 and a 1-year high of $124.90. The company has a market cap of $5.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 3.36 and a quick ratio of 2.83.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $615.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $596.41 million. Itron had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 9.37%. The company’s revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Itron, Inc. will post 5.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ITRI shares. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Itron from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Itron in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $133.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Itron from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Itron from $110.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Itron in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Thomas Deitrich sold 37,500 shares of Itron stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.83, for a total transaction of $3,931,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 205,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,519,083.08. The trade was a 15.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.45% of the stock is owned by 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.