Chartwell Investment Partners LLC Invests $1.89 Million in Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI)

Chartwell Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 17,703 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,891,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Itron by 85.6% during the second quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 271 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Itron by 53.0% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 352 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Itron by 26.1% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 536 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Itron by 46.6% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 720 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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 worth $77,000 after buying an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. 96.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Joan S. Hooper sold 509 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.15, for a total transaction of $51,994.35. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 72,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,389,326.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Itron news, CEO Thomas Deitrich sold 37,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.83, for a total value of $3,931,125.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 205,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,519,083.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Joan S. Hooper sold 509 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.15, for a total value of $51,994.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 72,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,389,326.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 43,276 shares of company stock valued at $4,517,947. Corporate insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Itron in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $133.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Itron from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Itron from $123.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on Itron from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stephens restated 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.92.

Itron Stock Performance

Shares of ITRI opened at $121.23 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $106.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.74 and a 52-week high of $124.90.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts’ expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Itron, Inc. will post 5.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Itron 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.