Lazard Asset Management LLC Acquires 10,464 Shares of Ituran Location and Control Ltd. $ITRN

Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (NASDAQ:ITRN) by 10.3% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 111,710 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,464 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ituran Location and Control were worth $5,475,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Ituran Location and Control by 327.2% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,226 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 939 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ituran Location and Control in the 1st quarter valued at about $223,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Ituran Location and Control by 276.7% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 17,135 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $664,000 after acquiring an additional 12,586 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Ituran Location and Control by 23.5% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 19,413 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $752,000 after acquiring an additional 3,696 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Ituran Location and Control by 13.6% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ituran Location and Control Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of ITRN opened at $55.46 on Friday. Ituran Location and Control Ltd. has a 1-year low of $32.71 and a 1-year high of $68.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $60.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.30 and a beta of 0.77.

Ituran Location and Control (NASDAQ:ITRN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $102.67 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 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 was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 24th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 24th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Ituran Location and Control’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on ITRN. 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. Zacks Research raised Ituran Location and Control to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ituran Location and Control in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ituran Location and Control presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.