Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Key Points

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Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. lifted its position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 0.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 224,050 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,630 shares during the quarter. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. owned about 0.76% of Badger Meter worth $42,626,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at $227,000. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Badger Meter by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 56,490 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $11,984,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its stake in Badger Meter by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 41,462 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $8,788,000 after acquiring an additional 1,630 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Badger Meter by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 315,375 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $66,897,000 after acquiring an additional 1,285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new position in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at $377,000. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Badger Meter Price Performance

NYSE BMI traded up $6.2850 during trading on Friday, hitting $189.7350. 297,529 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 377,550. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $216.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $215.89. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12-month low of $162.17 and a 12-month high of $256.08. The firm has a market cap of $5.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.34, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.84.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last posted 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 the consensus estimate of $1.19 by ($0.02). Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The business had revenue of $238.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $235.38 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on BMI. Stifel Nicolaus set a $224.00 target price on Badger Meter in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Badger Meter from $216.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Badger Meter in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on Badger Meter from $284.00 to $264.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $238.40.

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.