Bank of America Corp DE Purchases Shares of 460,602 Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired 460,602 Badger Meter shares worth approximately $68.3 million in the second quarter, giving it a roughly 1.59% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 89.01% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans positive: six analysts rate BMI a Buy, five rate it Hold, and one rates it Sell, with a consensus price target of $162.
• Badger Meter slightly exceeded quarterly earnings expectations with $1.02 EPS, though revenue fell 6.6% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.44 per share, implying a 1.3% annualized yield.

Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 460,602 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $68,344,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 1.59% of Badger Meter as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BMI. Values First Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 1.3% during the first quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 7,216 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,099,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 212.9% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 266 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Badger Meter in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Badger Meter during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $167.00 target price on Badger Meter and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Northcoast Research raised Badger Meter from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $148.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Stifel Nicolaus set a $170.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $112.00 target price (up from $109.00) on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $162.00.

Insider Activity

In other Badger Meter news, VP Edward Callahan purchased 751 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $135.25 per share, with a total value of $101,572.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 1,937 shares of the company's stock, valued at $261,979.25. This trade represents a 63.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

BMI stock opened at $132.97 on Friday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a one year low of $112.09 and a one year high of $204.00. The firm has a market cap of $3.85 billion, a PE ratio of 31.07, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.65. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $133.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $135.93.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.01. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 18.03% and a net margin of 14.27%.The business had revenue of $220.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $220.59 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.17 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 28th were given a $0.44 dividend. 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 yield of 1.3%. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.12%.

Badger Meter Company Profile

Badger Meter, Inc is a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based manufacturer of flow measurement, control and communications solutions. The company primarily serves the water industry, providing products and technologies that help utilities and other customers measure, monitor and manage water use.

Its product portfolio includes water meters, ultrasonic and electromagnetic flow meters, advanced metering infrastructure, remote-read meter technologies and software-based data and analytics solutions. Badger Meter also offers flow measurement products for applications in industrial, commercial, municipal, fire protection and heating, ventilation and air conditioning markets.

Founded in 1905, Badger Meter serves customers primarily in North America and also markets its products internationally.

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