Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Buys New Position in Ituran Location and Control Ltd. $ITRN

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (NASDAQ:ITRN) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 12,900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $787,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Ituran Location and Control by 327.2% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,226 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 939 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ituran Location and Control in the first quarter valued at about $223,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings 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 valued at $664,000 after purchasing an additional 12,586 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Ituran Location and Control by 23.5% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 19,413 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $752,000 after purchasing an additional 3,696 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position 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 valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 783 shares in the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ITRN. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Ituran Location and Control from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Zacks Research raised shares of Ituran Location and Control to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ituran Location and Control from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ituran Location and Control in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.67.

Ituran Location and Control Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ITRN opened at $51.32 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $53.87 and its 200 day moving average is $55.50. The company has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.84 and a beta of 0.78. Ituran Location and Control Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $33.90 and a fifty-two week high of $68.30.

Ituran Location and Control (NASDAQ:ITRN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The industrial products company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $104.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.84 million. Ituran Location and Control had a net margin of 16.28% and a return on equity of 29.03%. As a group, research analysts predict that Ituran Location and Control Ltd. will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ituran Location and Control Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 29th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 29th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. Ituran Location and Control’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.73%.

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.