Vulcan Value Partners LLC Sells 62,305 Shares of Ituran Location and Control Ltd. $ITRN

Vulcan Value Partners LLC cut its position in shares of Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (NASDAQ:ITRN) by 10.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 540,059 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 62,305 shares during the quarter. Vulcan Value Partners LLC’s holdings in Ituran Location and Control were worth $23,430,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ITRN. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its position in Ituran Location and Control by 4.9% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Ituran Location and Control by 909.3% in the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 539,817 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $23,218,000 after buying an additional 486,331 shares in the last quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC grew its position in Ituran Location and Control by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 528,164 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $22,716,000 after acquiring an additional 34,550 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC grew its position in Ituran Location and Control by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 410,105 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $17,639,000 after acquiring an additional 1,370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aristides Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Ituran Location and Control by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Aristides Capital LLC now owns 283,405 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,189,000 after acquiring an additional 3,010 shares in the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ITRN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ituran Location and Control in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ituran Location and Control in a report on Friday, March 27th. Maxim Group started coverage on shares of Ituran Location and Control in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ituran Location and Control from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ituran Location and Control to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.67.

Ituran Location and Control Price Performance

Shares of Ituran Location and Control stock opened at $65.49 on Friday. Ituran Location and Control Ltd. has a one year low of $32.71 and a one year high of $68.30. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $51.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.61 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Ituran Location and Control Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 24th. Ituran Location and Control’s dividend payout ratio is currently 198.02%.

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.