Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI Shares Acquired by Dudley & Shanley Inc.

Key Points

• Dudley & Shanley increased its Badger Meter stake by 34.3% in the third quarter, acquiring 21,600 shares to hold 84,600 shares worth approximately $10.45 million. Institutional investors collectively own 89.01% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with six Buy, five Hold, and one Sell rating; the consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $162.00.
• Badger Meter shares recently traded at $124.58, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $1.02 and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.44 per share, equivalent to a 1.4% annualized yield.

Dudley & Shanley Inc. increased its position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 84,600 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 21,600 shares during the quarter. Badger Meter makes up 1.7% of Dudley & Shanley Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Dudley & Shanley Inc. owned approximately 0.29% of Badger Meter worth $10,451,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Transactions at Badger Meter

In other news, VP Edward Callahan acquired 751 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $135.25 per share, for a total transaction of $101,572.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,937 shares in the company, valued at $261,979.25. This trade represents a 63.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Badger Meter from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 22nd. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $112.00 target price (up from $109.00) on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $170.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Northcoast Research raised shares of Badger Meter from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $148.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, September 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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 report on Thursday, July 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $162.00.

Badger Meter Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Badger Meter stock traded down $0.30 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $124.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 67,847 shares, compared to its average volume of 477,450. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $131.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $134.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.64. Badger Meter, Inc. has a one year low of $112.09 and a one year high of $204.00.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.01. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 18.03%. The firm had revenue of $220.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $220.59 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.17 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 28th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. This is a boost from Badger Meter's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 28th. Badger Meter's payout ratio is currently 41.12%.

Badger Meter Company Profile

Badger Meter, Inc is a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based manufacturer of flow measurement, control and communications solutions. The company primarily serves the water industry, providing technologies that help utilities and other customers measure, manage and monitor the use and movement of water.

Its products include ultrasonic, electromagnetic and mechanical water meters, as well as flow instrumentation and related control equipment. Badger Meter also offers advanced metering infrastructure and remote monitoring solutions, including its ORION and BEACON platforms, which support automated meter reading, data collection, leak detection and utility management.

Founded in 1905, Badger Meter serves municipal water utilities, commercial and industrial customers, and other water-related markets in North America and internationally.

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