Allianz Asset Management GmbH Reduces Stake in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Key Points

• Allianz Asset Management GmbH reduced its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. by 33.1%, ending with approximately 0.47% ownership valued at $33.7 million after selling 68,208 shares in the second quarter.
• Badger Meter recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.40 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend of $1.60 and a yield of 0.9%, up from the previous $0.34 per share.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings for Badger Meter, with three issuing a Buy rating and five a Hold rating, while the average target price is set at $237.00.

Allianz Asset Management GmbH lessened its position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 33.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 137,690 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 68,208 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned approximately 0.47% of Badger Meter worth $33,727,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BMI. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at $227,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 11.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 878 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $167,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Badger Meter during the first quarter valued at about $369,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 5.4% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,233 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $3,659,000 after purchasing an additional 991 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 46.5% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 2,396 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $456,000 after acquiring an additional 761 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on BMI shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Badger Meter from $216.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price 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. Weiss Ratings cut Badger Meter from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $224.00 price objective on Badger Meter in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research raised Badger Meter from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $237.00.

Badger Meter Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of BMI opened at $179.89 on Friday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12 month low of $162.17 and a 12 month high of $256.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $181.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $208.58. The firm has a market cap of $5.30 billion, a PE ratio of 39.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.90.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.19 by ($0.02). Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The business had revenue of $238.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $235.38 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.12 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is a boost from Badger Meter's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.86%.

Badger Meter 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.

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