Merewether Investment Management LP Sells 159,400 Shares of Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI)

Merewether Investment Management LP cut its stake in shares of Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) by 51.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 151,771 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 159,400 shares during the period. Merewether Investment Management LP owned 0.34% of Itron worth $16,211,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Itron by 85.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 271 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its position in Itron by 53.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 352 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Itron by 26.1% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 536 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Itron by 46.6% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 720 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Itron by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 724 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. 96.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Thomas Deitrich sold 37,500 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 205,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,519,083.08. This trade represents a 15.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Itron Stock Performance

ITRI stock opened at $118.04 on Wednesday. Itron, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.21 and a 12-month high of $124.90. The company has a current ratio of 3.36, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $5.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.46. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $111.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $105.49.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ITRI shares. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Itron in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $133.00 target price for the company. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on shares of Itron from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of Itron in a research report on Friday, September 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $131.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Itron from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Itron from $123.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.92.

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.