Inspire Investing LLC Takes $1.59 Million Position in Ituran Location and Control Ltd. $ITRN

Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (NASDAQ:ITRN) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 32,391 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,587,000. Inspire Investing LLC owned 0.16% of Ituran Location and Control at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GW&K Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Ituran Location and Control by 909.3% in the 4th quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 539,817 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $23,218,000 after purchasing an additional 486,331 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC raised its position in shares of Ituran Location and Control by 721.6% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 104,190 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,481,000 after buying an additional 91,509 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Global Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ituran Location and Control by 106.4% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Global Advisors LLC now owns 132,325 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,691,000 after buying an additional 68,222 shares during the period. Man Group plc boosted its stake in Ituran Location and Control by 90.8% during the second quarter. Man Group plc now owns 137,657 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,331,000 after buying an additional 65,502 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Ituran Location and Control by 71.1% during the fourth 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ITRN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ituran Location and Control from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ituran Location and Control in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Loop Capital set a $57.00 target price on shares of Ituran Location and Control in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Ituran Location and Control from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Maxim Group started coverage on shares of Ituran Location and Control in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.67.

Ituran Location and Control Stock Performance

ITRN stock opened at $60.85 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 20.08 and a beta of 0.77. Ituran Location and Control Ltd. has a one year low of $32.71 and a one year high of $68.30. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $61.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.25.

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

Ituran Location and Control Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 24th. Ituran Location and Control’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.01%.

Ituran Location and Control Company Profile

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.