PGGM Investments Lowers Holdings in Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI)

PGGM Investments reduced its stake in shares of Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 576,721 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 10,412 shares during the quarter. PGGM Investments owned about 1.28% of Itron worth $62,620,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Itron by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,074,940 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $114,835,000 after purchasing an additional 5,630 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Itron by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 464,787 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $50,467,000 after purchasing an additional 34,842 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in Itron in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,534,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Itron by 41.6% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 283,728 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $30,305,000 after buying an additional 83,328 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Itron by 611.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 282,828 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $31,128,000 after buying an additional 243,102 shares during the period. 96.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ITRI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Itron from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Itron from $130.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com cut Itron from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 1st. Guggenheim cut their price target on Itron from $135.00 to $133.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Itron from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.64.

Itron Stock Performance

Shares of Itron stock opened at $103.13 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.66 billion, a PE ratio of 21.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $104.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.42. Itron, Inc. has a one year low of $86.13 and a one year high of $124.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 3.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Itron news, SVP Christopher E. Ware sold 648 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.90, for a total value of $60,199.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,888,285.40. This trade represents a 3.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO David Marshall Wright sold 317 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.90, for a total value of $29,449.30. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,108 shares in the company, valued at $753,233.20. The trade was a 3.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,037 shares of company stock worth $385,815 in the last 90 days. 1.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.