12,443 Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI Shares Sold by Van Berkom & Associates Inc.

Van Berkom & Associates Inc. reduced its position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 317,941 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 12,443 shares during the period. Van Berkom & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $39,278,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. XXEC Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the second quarter worth $825,029,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Badger Meter during the 2nd quarter worth about $725,926,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Badger Meter during the 2nd quarter worth about $68,344,000. American Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the 2nd quarter worth about $38,318,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,346,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of BMI stock opened at $159.20 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $135.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.75. The firm has a market cap of $4.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.77, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.63. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1 year low of $112.09 and a 1 year high of $192.28.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.01. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 14.36%. The business had revenue of $230.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $240.35 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.53 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 11th. Investors of record on Friday, August 28th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 28th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. This is a boost from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BMI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $187.00 target price (up from $162.00) on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Northcoast Research downgraded Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $172.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Badger Meter presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $166.33.

Badger Meter Profile

Badger Meter, Inc is a Milwaukee-based manufacturer of products and systems used to measure and manage water and other fluid flows. Founded in 1905, the company serves municipal water utilities as well as commercial and industrial customers.

Its offerings include water meters, flow instrumentation and related communications technology that helps customers collect and analyze usage data. Badger Meter also provides water quality monitoring equipment and software for tracking water system performance and supporting operational decisions.

The company serves customers in North America and international markets through its sales and distribution networks.