Quantessence Capital LLC Invests $295,000 in Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI)

Quantessence Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 2,715 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $295,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ITRI. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Itron by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 802,584 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $87,145,000 after acquiring an additional 66,637 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Itron during the 4th quarter valued at about $64,615,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in Itron by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 464,787 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $50,467,000 after purchasing an additional 34,842 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Itron by 85.7% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 425,484 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $46,199,000 after buying an additional 196,396 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Itron by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 350,461 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $38,053,000 after buying an additional 10,400 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Itron from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $133.00 price objective on shares of Itron in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. StockNews.com lowered Itron from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Itron from $130.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Itron from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $127.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Christopher E. Ware sold 648 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.90, for a total value of $60,199.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,888,285.40. The trade was a 3.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mary C. Hemmingsen sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.27, for a total transaction of $80,452.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $603,930.10. This trade represents a 11.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,037 shares of company stock worth $385,815. Company insiders own 1.51% of the company’s stock.

Itron Stock Up 2.6 %

NASDAQ ITRI opened at $104.11 on Wednesday. Itron, Inc. has a 52 week low of $90.03 and a 52 week high of $124.90. 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 company has a market capitalization of $4.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.39. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $102.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.39.

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.