Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. reduced its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. by 16.7% to 456,899 shares, valued at approximately $86.93 million, as per recent SEC filings.
• Badger Meter announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.34 to $0.40 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $1.60 and a yield of 0.9%.
• The company's recent earnings report showed a 9.9% increase in revenue year-over-year, totaling $238.1 million, although it missed the consensus EPS estimate by $0.02.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 16.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 456,899 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 91,411 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned approximately 1.55% of Badger Meter worth $86,925,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 22.7% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 2,731 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $519,000 after buying an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Badger Meter during the 1st quarter valued at $369,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 11.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 878 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $167,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new position in Badger Meter during the 1st quarter worth $65,448,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Badger Meter Price Performance

NYSE:BMI traded down $2.51 on Tuesday, reaching $177.25. 448,152 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 283,018. The firm has a market cap of $5.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.88. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52 week low of $162.17 and a 52 week high of $256.08. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $197.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $212.37.

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 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 business had revenue of $238.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $235.38 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.12 EPS. Badger Meter's revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were given a $0.40 dividend. 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 22nd. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on BMI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $230.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $284.00 to $264.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $216.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $224.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.00.

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.