Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Grows Stock Holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 100.3% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 64,459 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 32,278 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $12,012,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 615 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Farrow Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 0.4% in the second quarter. Farrow Financial Inc. now owns 20,064 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $3,739,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 1,796 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Arjuna Capital grew its position in Badger Meter by 4.4% during the first quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 2,636 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its stake in Badger Meter by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 1,589 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BMI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Maxim Group lifted their price target on Badger Meter from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Argus raised their price target on Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $175.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $184.20.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BMI traded down $1.64 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $199.98. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 171,564 shares, compared to its average volume of 180,601. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12 month low of $134.06 and a 12 month high of $210.29. The stock has a market cap of $5.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $192.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $177.30.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.09. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 14.44%. The business had revenue of $216.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $203.39 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.76 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.06 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is a positive change from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is presently 31.12%.

Badger Meter Company Profile

Badger Meter, Inc manufactures and markets flow measurement, quality, control, and communication solutions worldwide. It offers mechanical or static water meters, and related radio and software technologies and services to municipal water utilities market. The company also provides flow instrumentation products, including meters, valves, and other sensing instruments to measure and control fluids going through a pipe or pipeline, including water, air, steam, and other liquids and gases to original equipment manufacturers as the primary flow measurement device within a product or system, as well as through manufacturers' representatives.