Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI Shares Purchased by Millennium Management LLC

Key Points

• Millennium Management LLC significantly increased its stake in Badger Meter, acquiring an additional 119,333 shares, resulting in a total ownership of 128,961 shares valued at approximately $24.5 million.
• Badger Meter reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.17, slightly missing the consensus estimate of $1.19, with a 9.9% increase in year-over-year revenue.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.40 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.9% and a payout ratio of 34.86%.

Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 1,239.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 128,961 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after acquiring an additional 119,333 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned approximately 0.44% of Badger Meter worth $24,535,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Values First Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 8,739 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,663,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 1,361 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 11.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 7.7% during the first 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 last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 2.8% during the first 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on BMI. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $216.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $230.00 price target for the company. 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 report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $224.00 target price on Badger Meter in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $237.00.

Badger Meter Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of BMI stock traded down $2.77 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $177.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 148,586 shares, compared to its average volume of 281,235. The business has a fifty day moving average of $197.47 and a 200-day moving average of $212.37. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $162.17 and a twelve month high of $256.08. The stock has a market cap of $5.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.88.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by ($0.02). Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The company had revenue of $238.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $235.38 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.12 EPS. Badger Meter's quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect 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. Shareholders 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Badger Meter's payout ratio is currently 34.86%.

Badger Meter Company 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.