CPC Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

CPC Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 60.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 11,396 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 4,312 shares during the quarter. CPC Advisors LLC’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $2,035,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Badger Meter in the second quarter valued at approximately $83,548,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 78.1% in the 2nd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 612,809 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $150,108,000 after purchasing an additional 268,799 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 108.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 342,099 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $83,797,000 after buying an additional 177,781 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 27.1% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 802,166 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $196,491,000 after buying an additional 171,275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 2nd quarter worth $27,884,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Badger Meter Stock Down 1.8%

NYSE BMI opened at $171.47 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.05 billion, a PE ratio of 36.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.91. Badger Meter, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $162.17 and a fifty-two week high of $256.08. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $178.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $188.62.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.08. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.40% and a return on equity of 21.12%. The company had revenue of $235.65 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $231.88 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. Badger Meter’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 5th. Investors of record on Friday, November 21st were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 34.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on BMI. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $208.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $229.00 price objective on Badger Meter and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Friday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $220.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research raised shares of Badger Meter from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $240.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.25.

About Badger Meter

Badger Meter, founded in 1905 and headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a global leader in flow measurement and control solutions. The company’s core business centers on the design, manufacture and sale of water meters, control valves and related accessories for municipal and industrial water utilities. Over its more than a century of operation, Badger Meter has built a reputation for precision engineering, durability and compliance with international regulatory standards.

The company’s product portfolio includes mechanical and ultrasonic water meters, electromagnetic flow meters for industrial applications, and a range of control valves that help utilities manage pressure and flow in distribution networks.