Meitav Investment House Ltd. Buys Shares of 16,291 Ituran Location and Control Ltd. $ITRN

Meitav Investment House Ltd. purchased a new position in Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (NASDAQ:ITRN) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 16,291 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $781,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ITRN. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Ituran Location and Control by 327.2% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,226 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 939 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ituran Location and Control during the 1st quarter valued at $223,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Ituran Location and Control by 276.7% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 17,135 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $664,000 after acquiring an additional 12,586 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Ituran Location and Control by 23.5% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 19,413 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $752,000 after acquiring an additional 3,696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ituran Location and Control by 13.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,555 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $254,000 after acquiring an additional 783 shares in the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ituran Location and Control Stock Performance

Shares of ITRN stock opened at $55.08 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.63. Ituran Location and Control Ltd. has a twelve month low of $32.71 and a twelve month high of $68.30. The company has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.18 and a beta of 0.77.

Ituran Location and Control (NASDAQ:ITRN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $95.32 million. On average, analysts forecast that Ituran Location and Control Ltd. will post 3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ituran Location and Control Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 24th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 24th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Ituran Location and Control’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on ITRN. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ituran Location and Control in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Zacks Research upgraded Ituran Location and Control to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen raised Ituran Location and Control from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Maxim Group assumed coverage on Ituran Location and Control in a report on Thursday, March 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ituran Location and Control in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ituran Location and Control currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.67.

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.