Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI Position Cut by Axiom Investors LLC DE

Key Points

• Axiom Investors LLC DE reduced its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. by 42.2%, selling 31,250 shares and holding a total of 42,743 shares worth approximately $8.13 million as of their latest SEC filing.
• Badger Meter recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, an increase from the previous $0.34, with a current annualized yield of 0.9%.
• The company's latest earnings report showed an EPS of $1.17, falling short of analyst expectations, but revenue increased by 9.9% year-over-year, totaling $238.1 million.

Axiom Investors LLC DE lessened its holdings in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 42.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 42,743 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 31,250 shares during the period. Axiom Investors LLC DE owned approximately 0.15% of Badger Meter worth $8,132,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Values First Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Badger Meter by 0.6% during the first quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 8,739 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,663,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Choreo LLC lifted its position in Badger Meter by 4.6% during the first quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 1,361 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 618 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,018 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $194,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,857 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $544,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Badger Meter Trading Down 1.9%

BMI stock traded down $3.47 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $177.82. 315,285 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 289,675. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $198.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $212.51. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12-month low of $162.17 and a 12-month high of $256.08.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last issued its 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). The firm had revenue of $238.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $235.38 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 15.53%.Badger Meter's revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.40 dividend. 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 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.