Citigroup Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI)

Citigroup Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) by 97.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 66,674 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 2,397,452 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Itron were worth $7,121,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of ITRI. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Itron by 85.6% in the second quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 271 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its position in Itron by 53.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 352 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Itron by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 536 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Itron by 46.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 720 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Itron by 21.7% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 724 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. 96.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Itron Price Performance

Shares of ITRI opened at $118.53 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $110.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.40. Itron, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.81 and a fifty-two week high of $124.90. The stock has a market cap of $5.34 billion, a PE ratio of 24.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 3.36.

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

Insider Transactions at Itron

In other news, CEO Thomas Deitrich sold 37,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 205,276 shares in the company, valued at $21,519,083.08. This represents a 15.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ITRI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Itron from $110.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Itron from $123.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Itron in a report on Monday, August 5th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Itron from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of Itron in a research note on Friday, September 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $131.00 target price on the stock. 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.