Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New $2 Million Investment in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 13,100 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,996,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BMI. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at $227,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 328.0% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,766 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $717,000 after purchasing an additional 2,886 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 10.6% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 2,334 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $572,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp bought a new stake in Badger Meter in the second quarter valued at $200,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in Badger Meter by 11.2% in the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 50,225 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $12,303,000 after purchasing an additional 5,041 shares in the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Badger Meter News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Badger Meter this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms issued reminders and investor alerts about the ongoing class action, increasing legal overhang and uncertainty for BMI shareholders. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: The core allegations in the lawsuit may weigh on sentiment, including claims that Badger Meter misled investors about demand strength and near-term order trends. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: One law firm specifically pointed to allegations that prior guidance of “high single-digit” growth was followed by a 9% revenue decline, which could reinforce concerns about execution and reporting credibility. Article Title

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BMI opened at $148.66 on Wednesday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $112.09 and a fifty-two week high of $249.56. The stock has a market cap of $4.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.56, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.68. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $126.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $148.55.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $220.71 million during the quarter. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 18.76% and a net margin of 14.56%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is presently 36.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BMI. Stifel Nicolaus set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Zacks Research lowered Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Badger Meter from $173.00 to $145.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings lowered Badger Meter from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $155.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Badger Meter news, EVP Robert Wrocklage purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $122.35 per share, for a total transaction of $122,350.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president owned 23,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,853,324.35. The trade was a 4.48% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Richard Htwe acquired 1,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $116.13 per share, for a total transaction of $197,421.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 7,603 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $882,936.39. The trade was a 28.80% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders purchased a total of 6,628 shares of company stock valued at $777,128 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Company 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.