Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI Stock Bought by Alps Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Alps Advisors increased its Badger Meter stake 78.1% in the third quarter, adding 55,975 shares to hold 127,682 shares valued at about $15.8 million. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the stock.
• Badger Meter reported quarterly EPS of $1.24, slightly above the $1.23 consensus, while revenue of $230.3 million fell short of analysts’ $240.35 million estimate; revenue grew 0.1% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend from $0.40 to $0.44 per share. Analysts’ consensus rating is “Hold,” with an average price target of $166.33.

Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 78.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 127,682 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after acquiring an additional 55,975 shares during the quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. owned about 0.45% of Badger Meter worth $15,774,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. CenterBook Partners LP increased its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 202.4% during the third quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 12,446 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,538,000 after acquiring an additional 8,330 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Badger Meter by 7.7% in the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,163 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,750,000 after purchasing an additional 1,007 shares during the period. Farrow Financial Inc. lifted its position in Badger Meter by 0.9% in the third quarter. Farrow Financial Inc. now owns 19,244 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $2,377,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Bridge City Capital LLC lifted its position in Badger Meter by 21.6% in the third quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC now owns 31,236 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $3,859,000 after purchasing an additional 5,542 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 137,033 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $16,929,000 after purchasing an additional 24,905 shares in the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Badger Meter Price Performance

NYSE BMI opened at $157.68 on Friday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1-year low of $112.09 and a 1-year high of $192.28. The company has a market capitalization of $4.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.41, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.63. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $134.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.80.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $230.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $240.35 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 14.36%. Badger Meter's revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.53 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 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 28th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. 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. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on BMI shares. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Barclays raised their price target on Badger Meter from $111.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Monday, October 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Badger Meter from $172.00 to $170.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $168.00 price objective on Badger Meter in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $166.33.

Badger Meter Profile

Badger Meter, Inc is a water technology company that develops and manufactures flow measurement, control and communications solutions. Its products are used to measure and manage water across municipal, commercial and industrial applications, helping customers improve operational efficiency, monitor usage and support water conservation.

The company's offerings include mechanical, ultrasonic and electromagnetic flow meters; valves and related flow-control equipment; and smart water technologies.

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