Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (NASDAQ:ITRN) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.50

Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (NASDAQ:ITRN) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 29th will be given a dividend of 0.50 per share by the industrial products company on Wednesday, October 14th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 29th.

Ituran Location and Control has raised its dividend by an average of 0.5%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 4 years. Ituran Location and Control has a payout ratio of 61.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Ituran Location and Control to earn $4.00 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 50.0%.

Ituran Location and Control Stock Performance

ITRN opened at $54.07 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $58.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.84 and a beta of 0.79. Ituran Location and Control has a 52-week low of $32.71 and a 52-week high of $68.30.

Ituran Location and Control (NASDAQ:ITRN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The industrial products company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.01. Ituran Location and Control had a net margin of 16.03% and a return on equity of 27.70%. The firm had revenue of $104.79 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.84 million. Research analysts forecast that Ituran Location and Control will post 3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Ituran Location and Control

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ituran Location and Control by 909.3% during the 4th quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 539,817 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $23,218,000 after purchasing an additional 486,331 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ituran Location and Control by 721.6% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 104,190 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,481,000 after buying an additional 91,509 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Global Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ituran Location and Control by 106.4% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Global Advisors LLC now owns 132,325 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,691,000 after buying an additional 68,222 shares during the period. Man Group plc boosted its holdings in Ituran Location and Control by 90.8% in the 2nd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 137,657 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,331,000 after buying an additional 65,502 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Ituran Location and Control by 71.1% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 125,478 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,397,000 after buying an additional 52,150 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

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.