Janus Henderson Group PLC Reduces Position in Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI)

Janus Henderson Group PLC decreased its position in shares of Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI - Free Report) by 7.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 523,478 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 40,521 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned approximately 1.16% of Itron worth $55,911,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ITRI. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its position in Itron by 53.0% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 352 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its position in Itron by 26.1% in the third 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Itron by 46.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 720 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Itron by 21.7% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 724 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on Itron in a research report on Friday, September 27th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $131.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Itron from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Itron in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $133.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Itron from $123.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted their target price on Itron from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Itron currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $123.92.

Itron Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Itron stock traded up $0.12 on Friday, hitting $115.92. 347,476 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 516,205. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $111.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.65. The company has a current ratio of 3.36, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Itron, Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.21 and a 52 week high of $124.90. The company has a market cap of $5.23 billion, a PE ratio of 23.73, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.46.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.71. The company had revenue of $615.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $596.41 million. Itron had a net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 19.03%. Itron's revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Itron, Inc. will post 5.33 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Thomas Deitrich sold 37,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.83, for a total transaction of $3,931,125.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 205,276 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,519,083.08. This represents a 15.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by 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.