Corient IA LLC Invests $571,000 in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Key Points

• Corient IA LLC has acquired 3,000 shares of Badger Meter, Inc., valued at approximately $571,000, highlighting increasing institutional interest in the company.
• The company's most recent earnings report showed $1.17 earnings per share, slightly missing estimates, but with a year-over-year revenue increase of 9.9%.
• Badger Meter has announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.40, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.9% and a dividend payout ratio of 29.63%.

Corient IA LLC bought a new stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,000 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $571,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,780 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Values First Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 8,739 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,663,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Choreo LLC grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 1,361 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,018 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $194,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Cim LLC grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Cim LLC now owns 9,747 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $2,068,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

BMI stock traded up $6.8950 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $189.9450. The company had a trading volume of 129,283 shares, compared to its average volume of 276,024. The company has a market capitalization of $5.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $218.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $216.12. 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 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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by ($0.02). The company 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%. Badger Meter's revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.12 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. This is an increase from Badger Meter's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio is 29.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BMI. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Badger Meter in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Argus set a $240.00 target price on Badger Meter in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Badger Meter from $216.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Badger Meter from $284.00 to $264.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $224.00 target price on Badger Meter in a report 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $238.40.

Badger Meter Company Profile

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.