Grandeur Peak Global Advisors LLC Buys 25,445 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Grandeur Peak Global Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 654.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,334 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,445 shares during the period. Badger Meter accounts for 1.1% of Grandeur Peak Global Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Grandeur Peak Global Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Badger Meter worth $4,353,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the first quarter worth about $1,447,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 166,407 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $29,023,000 after buying an additional 20,624 shares during the last quarter. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new position in Badger Meter during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,126,000. Capital Innovations LLC purchased a new position in Badger Meter during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,867,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in Badger Meter by 113.9% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 95,662 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $16,684,000 after acquiring an additional 50,949 shares during the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Badger Meter Price Performance

NYSE:BMI opened at $135.68 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.70 and a beta of 0.65. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1 year low of $112.09 and a 1 year high of $204.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $137.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.66.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $220.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $220.59 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 18.03% and a net margin of 14.27%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.17 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 28th. This is a positive change from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is presently 41.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Edward F. Callahan acquired 751 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $135.25 per share, for a total transaction of $101,572.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $261,979.25. The trade was a 63.32% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BMI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $170.00 target price on Badger Meter and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Seaport Research Partners set a $160.00 price target on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $172.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.00.

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.