Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co Makes New $661,000 Investment in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co purchased a new stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 3,700 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $661,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BMI. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Badger Meter by 3.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,960,308 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $707,232,000 after buying an additional 145,389 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,462,807 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $358,315,000 after acquiring an additional 20,122 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 876,519 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $215,464,000 after acquiring an additional 19,340 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew 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 purchasing an additional 171,275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 78.1% during the 2nd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 612,809 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $150,108,000 after purchasing an additional 268,799 shares in the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In other news, EVP Robert Wrocklage acquired 1,650 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $152.35 per share, for a total transaction of $251,377.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 19,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,977,071.35. The trade was a 9.22% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,634 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.01, for a total value of $243,482.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 3,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $485,176.56. The trade was a 33.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 3,846 shares of company stock valued at $575,339 over the last three months. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Badger Meter Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of NYSE BMI opened at $148.79 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $4.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.00, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.87. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12 month low of $139.14 and a 12 month high of $256.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $161.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $173.60.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $220.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $232.30 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.45% and a return on equity of 20.71%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.04 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is presently 33.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on BMI. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Badger Meter from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $167.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $232.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays set a $136.00 price objective on shares of Badger Meter and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $181.88.

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.