Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI Stock: Willis Investment Counsel Boosts Position

Key Points

• Willis Investment Counsel increased its Badger Meter stake by 76.6% in the third quarter to 32,467 shares valued at approximately $4.0 million. Institutional investors collectively own 89.01% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with six Buy, five Hold, and one Sell rating; the consensus rating is Hold with a target price of $159.38, above the stock’s recent price of $127.48.
• Badger Meter reported quarterly EPS of $1.02, narrowly exceeding estimates, while revenue fell 6.6% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.44 per share, equal to a 1.4% annualized yield.

Willis Investment Counsel grew its position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 76.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 32,467 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,084 shares during the period. Willis Investment Counsel owned approximately 0.11% of Badger Meter worth $4,011,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vontobel Holding Ltd. acquired a new stake in Badger Meter during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $981,000. Annex Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 219.2% in the third quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 42,453 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $5,245,000 after purchasing an additional 29,152 shares during the last quarter. Michael J. Porro & Co. Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Badger Meter in the third quarter valued at $617,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its position in Badger Meter by 35.2% during the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 258,164 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $31,894,000 after purchasing an additional 67,258 shares during the period. Finally, GK Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BMI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $111.00 price target (down from $112.00) on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Robert W. Baird set a $167.00 price target on Badger Meter and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Badger Meter from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Badger Meter from $172.00 to $170.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $159.38.

Insider Activity

In other Badger Meter news, VP Edward Callahan bought 751 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $135.25 per share, with a total value of $101,572.75. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president directly owned 1,937 shares of the company's stock, valued at $261,979.25. This represents a 63.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Badger Meter stock traded up $1.23 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $127.48. The company had a trading volume of 143,035 shares, compared to its average volume of 472,032. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12-month low of $112.09 and a 12-month high of $204.00. The company has a market capitalization of $3.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.64. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $130.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $132.74.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $220.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $220.59 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 18.03% and a net margin of 14.27%. The business's revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.17 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.50 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 28th were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 28th. This is a positive change from Badger Meter's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Badger Meter's payout ratio is currently 41.12%.

About Badger Meter

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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