Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Grows Holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Key Points

• Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. significantly increased its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. by 307.5% in Q2, owning approximately 0.08% of the company valued at $5.97 million.
• Badger Meter's recent earnings report showed a net margin of 15.53% and a 9.9% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year, despite missing EPS estimates.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.34 to $0.40 per share, marking a boost in the annualized payout to $1.60 with a yield of 0.9%.

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 307.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,364 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after buying an additional 18,385 shares during the quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. owned about 0.08% of Badger Meter worth $5,968,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BMI. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Badger Meter by 25.9% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 630,891 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $120,027,000 after purchasing an additional 129,945 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 398,588 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $75,831,000 after buying an additional 35,424 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the first quarter worth approximately $65,448,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 2.8% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 305,039 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $58,034,000 after buying an additional 8,345 shares during the period. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Badger Meter by 1.7% in the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 291,637 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $55,484,000 after acquiring an additional 4,807 shares during the period. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Badger Meter Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:BMI traded down $1.15 on Friday, reaching $177.19. 912,836 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 359,678. Badger Meter, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $162.17 and a fifty-two week high of $256.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.60, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.87. The business's 50-day moving average is $192.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $211.42.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.19 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $238.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $235.38 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The firm's revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 22nd. This is a positive change from Badger Meter's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio is 34.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on BMI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Badger Meter in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $230.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Badger Meter from $284.00 to $264.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised their price target 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $224.00 price target on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Three 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, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.