Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 12,789 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. by 40.8%, ending the period with 18,570 shares valued at $3.53 million.
• Badger Meter recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.40 per share, representing a yield of 0.8% and a total annualized dividend of $1.60.
• The company reported earnings of $1.17 EPS for the last quarter, slightly missing expectations, while revenue increased by 9.9% year-over-year to$238.10 million.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 40.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,570 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 12,789 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.06% of Badger Meter worth $3,533,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 25.9% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 630,891 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $120,027,000 after purchasing an additional 129,945 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 398,588 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $75,831,000 after buying an additional 35,424 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 348,476 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $73,919,000 after buying an additional 27,797 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the 1st quarter valued at $65,448,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 184.6% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 256,217 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $54,350,000 after buying an additional 166,191 shares in the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on BMI shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $284.00 to $264.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $224.00 price objective on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $216.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Two 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $238.40.

Badger Meter Price Performance

NYSE:BMI traded down $3.80 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $182.69. 412,986 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 310,639. Badger Meter, Inc. has a one year low of $162.17 and a one year high of $256.08. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $211.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $214.87. The company has a market cap of $5.38 billion, a PE ratio of 39.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.84.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 15.53%.The business had revenue of $238.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $235.38 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. The company's revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is an increase from Badger Meter's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. Badger Meter's dividend 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.