California State Teachers Retirement System Sells 623 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System reduced its Badger Meter stake by 1.8%, selling 623 shares and retaining 33,568 shares valued at approximately $4.98 million. Institutional investors collectively own 89.01% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is generally neutral, with five Buy, five Hold and one Sell rating; the consensus rating is Hold with a target price of $164, compared with a recent share price of $126.85.
• Badger Meter slightly exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $1.02 versus $1.01 expected, although revenue fell 6.6% year over year to $220.3 million. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.44 per share, implying a 1.4% yield.

California State Teachers Retirement System lowered its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,568 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 623 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.12% of Badger Meter worth $4,980,820 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. XXEC Inc. acquired a new position in Badger Meter in the second quarter valued at approximately $825,029,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Badger Meter during the 2nd quarter valued at $725,926,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Badger Meter by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 876,854 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $152,951,000 after purchasing an additional 4,035 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Badger Meter by 54.8% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 560,356 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $85,370,000 after buying an additional 198,430 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 5.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 540,272 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $82,305,000 after purchasing an additional 29,623 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BMI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Badger Meter from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 22nd. Seaport Research Partners set a $160.00 price target on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $112.00 price target (up from $109.00) on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings raised Badger Meter from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Badger Meter from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $164.00.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of Badger Meter stock traded down $0.37 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $126.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 152,250 shares, compared to its average volume of 481,249. The stock has a market cap of $3.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.65. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $135.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $136.54. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.01. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 18.03% and a net margin of 14.27%.The company had revenue of $220.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $220.59 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.17 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Edward Callahan bought 751 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $135.25 per share, for a total transaction of $101,572.75. Following the purchase, 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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 products and technologies that help utilities and other customers measure, monitor and manage water use.

Its product portfolio includes water meters, ultrasonic and electromagnetic flow meters, advanced metering infrastructure, remote-read meter technologies and software-based data and analytics solutions. Badger Meter also offers flow measurement products for applications in industrial, commercial, municipal, fire protection and heating, ventilation and air conditioning markets.

Founded in 1905, Badger Meter serves customers primarily in North America and also markets its products internationally.

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