Millennium Management LLC Raises Stake in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

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

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in Badger Meter by 22.7% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 2,731 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $519,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Badger Meter during the first quarter valued at $369,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 11.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 878 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the 1st quarter valued at about $65,448,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BMI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $224.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Badger Meter in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $230.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Badger Meter from $284.00 to $264.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Badger Meter from $216.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $237.00.

Badger Meter Stock Down 2.3%

BMI traded down $4.07 on Wednesday, hitting $173.18. The company had a trading volume of 148,788 shares, compared to its average volume of 282,042. The company has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a PE ratio of 37.73, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.87. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $196.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $212.13. 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 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). The company had revenue of $238.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 for the quarter was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is a boost from Badger Meter's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.