S&CO Inc. Buys Shares of 3,300 Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI)

S&CO Inc. bought a new stake in Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,300 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $249,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Itron in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Itron by 9,150.0% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 555 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Itron in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new stake in shares of Itron in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $81,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Itron by 89.3% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,344 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 634 shares during the last quarter. 96.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Itron Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ITRI traded up $2.44 on Monday, hitting $109.54. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 329,500 shares, compared to its average volume of 426,406. Itron, Inc. has a 12 month low of $56.11 and a 12 month high of $110.59. The company has a market capitalization of $5.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $96.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.90.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.39. Itron had a return on equity of 14.51% and a net margin of 7.03%. The company had revenue of $603.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $579.49 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Itron, Inc. will post 3.95 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on Itron from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Stephens boosted their price target on Itron from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Itron from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $68.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Itron from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Itron from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.18.

Insider Transactions at Itron

In other news, SVP Christopher E. Ware sold 311 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.84, for a total value of $33,227.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 15,371 shares in the company, valued at $1,642,237.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Donald L. Reeves III sold 502 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.02, for a total value of $45,692.04. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 16,427 shares in the company, valued at $1,495,185.54. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Christopher E. Ware sold 311 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.84, for a total value of $33,227.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 15,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,642,237.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 20,988 shares of company stock valued at $1,978,258. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.