Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC Lowers Position in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Key Points

• Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC reduced its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. by 5.4% during the first quarter, leaving it with 25,813 shares valued at approximately $4.9 million.
• Badger Meter recently announced a dividend increase from $0.34 to $0.40 per share, with the new dividend set to be paid on September 5th, representing a 0.9% yield.
• The company's quarterly earnings showed a slight miss on expectations, reporting $1.17 EPS against a consensus estimate of $1.19, while revenue rose by 9.9% year over year.

Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC reduced its position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 5.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,813 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 1,462 shares during the quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC owned about 0.09% of Badger Meter worth $4,911,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Fund Management S.A. bought a new position in Badger Meter in the first quarter valued at about $4,791,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 272.3% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 3,574 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $680,000 after acquiring an additional 2,614 shares during the last quarter. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. now owns 224,050 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $42,626,000 after acquiring an additional 1,630 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 406.3% during the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 21,813 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $4,132,000 after acquiring an additional 17,505 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Badger Meter during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,138,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Badger Meter Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of BMI traded down $1.88 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $187.41. The stock had a trading volume of 76,138 shares, compared to its average volume of 275,813. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12 month low of $162.17 and a 12 month high of $256.08. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $216.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $215.89. The company has a market capitalization of $5.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.84.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last issued its 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). Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 15.53%.The firm had revenue of $238.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $235.38 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. Badger Meter's revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is an increase from Badger Meter's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $284.00 to $264.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $216.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $224.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.