Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 145,389 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,960,308 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 145,389 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.13% of Badger Meter worth $707,232,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 148.3% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 48,190 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $11,804,000 after acquiring an additional 28,779 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in Badger Meter by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 70,488 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $12,588,000 after acquiring an additional 8,387 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 43.7% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 330,039 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $58,938,000 after purchasing an additional 100,298 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Badger Meter by 85.9% during the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 82,568 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $14,745,000 after purchasing an additional 38,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 135,070 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $33,085,000 after purchasing an additional 3,219 shares during the period. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst acquired 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $152.42 per share, for a total transaction of $502,986.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,098,781.46. This represents a 8.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert Wrocklage bought 1,650 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $152.35 per share, with a total value of $251,377.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 19,541 shares in the company, valued at $2,977,071.35. This trade represents a 9.22% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BMI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $166.00 price objective on Badger Meter and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Barclays set a $136.00 target price on Badger Meter and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Zacks Research cut shares of Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Four 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $181.88.

Badger Meter Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of Badger Meter stock opened at $156.20 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.90. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.14 and a 12-month high of $256.08. The business’s 50 day moving average is $166.92 and its 200-day moving average is $175.96.

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

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.33%.

Badger Meter Profile

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.