Lazard Asset Management LLC Increases Holdings in Ituran Location and Control Ltd. $ITRN

Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (NASDAQ:ITRN) by 10.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 111,710 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,464 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.56% of Ituran Location and Control worth $5,475,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its position in Ituran Location and Control by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 858,274 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,236,000 after buying an additional 39,718 shares in the last quarter. J.M. Arbour LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ituran Location and Control in the 4th quarter valued at about $881,000. Cannell & Spears LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ituran Location and Control in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,373,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Ituran Location and Control during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,451,000. Finally, Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ituran Location and Control during the 4th quarter valued at about $689,000. 94.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ITRN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ituran Location and Control to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ituran Location and Control from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ituran Location and Control in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.67.

Ituran Location and Control Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of ITRN stock opened at $55.46 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $60.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.10. Ituran Location and Control Ltd. has a 12-month low of $32.71 and a 12-month high of $68.30. The firm has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.30 and a beta of 0.77.

Ituran Location and Control (NASDAQ:ITRN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $102.67 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $95.32 million. Ituran Location and Control had a return on equity of 27.70% and a net margin of 16.03%. As a group, research analysts expect that Ituran Location and Control Ltd. will post 3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ituran Location and Control Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 24th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 24th. Ituran Location and Control’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.01%.

About Ituran Location and Control

Ituran Location and Control Ltd. is a provider of wireless vehicle tracking and stolen vehicle recovery services. The company leverages a combination of cellular and global positioning system (GPS) technologies to offer real-time monitoring and location-based solutions for private vehicle owners, fleet operators and insurance companies. Its core offerings include subscription-based tracking devices, centralized control centers and software platforms that enable clients to detect unauthorized vehicle use, dispatch recovery teams and manage fleet logistics.

Founded in 1994 in Israel, Ituran pioneered the use of wireless communications for security and telematics applications.