Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI Shares Sold by Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.

Key Points

• Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. reduced its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. by 28.7%, selling 3,048 shares and now holding 7,561 shares valued at approximately $1.44 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Westfield Capital Management and GAMMA Investing LLC, have significantly increased their holdings in Badger Meter during the same period.
• Badger Meter reported earnings of $1.17 per share, missing expectations, while also increasing its quarterly dividend from $0.34 to $0.40 per share, reflecting a 0.9% yield.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. reduced its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 28.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,561 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 3,048 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.'s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $1,438,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 100.0% in 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 buying an additional 92 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 83.0% in the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 194 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in Badger Meter in the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Badger Meter during the first quarter worth about $41,000. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BMI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $230.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $284.00 to $264.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $224.00 price target on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.00.

Badger Meter Stock Up 0.7%

BMI traded up $1.26 on Monday, reaching $179.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 81,534 shares, compared to its average volume of 280,372. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $198.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $212.58. The company has a market capitalization of $5.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.87. Badger Meter, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $162.17 and a fifty-two week high of $256.08.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $238.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $235.38 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 22nd. This is an increase from Badger Meter's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.86%.

About Badger Meter

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.