3,100 Shares in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI Acquired by Strs Ohio

Key Points

• Strs Ohio acquired 3,100 shares of Badger Meter, Inc. worth approximately $590,000 during the first quarter, marking a new investment position in the scientific and technical instruments company.
• Badger Meter reported a quarterly EPS of $1.17, missing analysts' expectations, although revenue increased by 9.9% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40, raising its annualized payout to $1.60 with a yield of 0.9%, reflecting a positive change from the previous dividend.

Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,100 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $590,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the first quarter worth about $65,448,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Badger Meter in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $44,715,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 21,179.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167,040 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $31,779,000 after buying an additional 166,255 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 25.9% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 630,891 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $120,027,000 after buying an additional 129,945 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 1,451.3% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 134,715 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $25,630,000 after buying an additional 126,031 shares in the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Badger Meter Stock Down 1.4%

Badger Meter stock traded down $2.50 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $174.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 111,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 290,099. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.88. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $162.17 and a twelve month high of $256.08. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $191.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $211.19.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.19 by ($0.02). Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 15.53%.The business had revenue of $238.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $235.38 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 22nd. This is a positive change from Badger Meter's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Badger Meter's payout ratio is presently 34.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Badger Meter in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $224.00 price target on Badger Meter in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Badger Meter from $216.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Badger Meter from $284.00 to $264.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Badger Meter in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $230.00 price objective for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $237.00.

About Badger Meter

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.