Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 56,262 Shares of Itron, Inc. $ITRI

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) by 20.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 223,220 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 56,262 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Itron were worth $20,007,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Itron by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,271,042 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $118,034,000 after purchasing an additional 194,768 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Itron by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,144,982 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $106,340,000 after purchasing an additional 6,598 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Itron by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 793,175 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $73,654,000 after purchasing an additional 31,088 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Itron in the 4th quarter valued at $63,990,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Itron by 42.5% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 604,580 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $75,306,000 after buying an additional 180,366 shares in the last quarter. 96.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Donald L. Reeves III sold 319 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.37, for a total value of $26,914.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 29,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,455,167. The trade was a 1.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Joan S. Hooper sold 442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.37, for a total transaction of $37,291.54. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 117,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,911,618.86. This trade represents a 0.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 3,946 shares of company stock valued at $324,420 over the last quarter. 1.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on ITRI shares. Zacks Research cut Itron from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $136.00 price target on shares of Itron in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Itron from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Itron in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Itron from $133.00 to $113.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.22.

Itron Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ITRI opened at $84.14 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $82.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $90.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a PE ratio of 13.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 2.24. Itron, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.77 and a fifty-two week high of $142.00.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.23. Itron had a return on equity of 19.54% and a net margin of 12.31%.The company had revenue of $586.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $572.04 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.52 EPS. Itron’s quarterly revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Itron has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.350 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Itron, Inc. will post 6.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Itron Company Profile

Itron, Inc (NASDAQ: ITRI) is a global technology company that develops innovative solutions to measure, manage and analyze the use of energy and water. Its comprehensive portfolio includes smart meters, data collection devices, communication networks and advanced software applications designed to optimize utility operations and foster sustainable resource management. The company’s offerings enable utilities and cities to accurately monitor consumption patterns, streamline billing processes and improve grid reliability.

Itron’s product lineup spans a range of hardware and software solutions, from residential and commercial smart meters to meter data management systems (MDMS), networked communication platforms and analytics tools.