Argent Capital Management LLC Purchases New Stake in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Key Points

• Argent Capital Management LLC has acquired a new stake in Badger Meter, purchasing 11,370 shares valued at approximately $2.785 million in the second quarter.
• Badger Meter recently reported earnings of $1.17 per share, slightly missing analyst expectations, but its revenue increased by 9.9% compared to the previous year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.40, up from $0.34, reflecting a positive performance in its financials.

Argent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 11,370 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $2,785,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Badger Meter by 25.9% during the first 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 during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its position in Badger Meter by 9.8% during the first quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 398,588 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $75,831,000 after purchasing an additional 35,424 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in Badger Meter during the first quarter worth about $65,448,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in Badger Meter by 2.8% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 305,039 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $58,034,000 after purchasing an additional 8,345 shares during the period. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Badger Meter by 1.7% during the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 291,637 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $55,484,000 after purchasing an additional 4,807 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

BMI stock opened at $177.05 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.22 billion, a PE ratio of 38.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.88. Badger Meter, Inc. has a one year low of $162.17 and a one year high of $256.08. The company's 50 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 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $235.38 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.12 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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