Braun Stacey Associates Inc. Sells 21,906 Shares of Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI)

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. lessened its holdings in Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI - Free Report) by 9.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 218,409 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 21,906 shares during the period. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. owned 0.48% of Itron worth $23,328,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in shares of Itron during the 1st quarter valued at about $346,000. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in Itron by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,185 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $850,000 after buying an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Itron by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 13,296 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,230,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Itron by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,701,337 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $527,488,000 after buying an additional 45,909 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Itron during the 1st quarter worth $336,000. Institutional investors own 96.19% of the company's stock.

Itron Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Itron stock traded up $1.29 during trading on Monday, reaching $116.19. 155,503 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 521,471. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.46. Itron, Inc. has a 1 year low of $64.96 and a 1 year high of $124.90. The stock's fifty day moving average is $107.85 and its 200 day moving average is $104.63.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Itron had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 9.37%. The business had revenue of $615.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $596.41 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. The business's revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Itron, Inc. will post 5.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on ITRI. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Itron in a research note on Monday, August 5th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Itron from $125.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on Itron in a research report on Friday, September 27th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $131.00 target price for the company. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Itron in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $133.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Itron from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Itron has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $123.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Donald L. Reeves III sold 4,210 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.00, for a total value of $425,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 16,269 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,643,169. This represents a 20.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Thomas Deitrich sold 887 shares of Itron stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.15, for a total value of $90,607.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 205,276 shares in the company, valued at $20,968,943.40. This represents a 0.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 43,276 shares of company stock worth $4,517,947. 1.45% of the stock is currently 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.