Invesco Ltd. Raises Position in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. increased its ownership in Badger Meter, Inc. by 25.9%, acquiring an additional 129,945 shares, bringing its total holdings to 630,891 shares valued at approximately $120 million.
• Several institutional investors have significantly lifted their positions in Badger Meter, with 89.01% of the company's stock now held by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• Badger Meter announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, which reflects a positive increase from the previous dividend and signifies a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 25.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 630,891 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 129,945 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned about 2.14% of Badger Meter worth $120,027,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 22.7% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 2,731 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $519,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the first quarter valued at approximately $369,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 11.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 878 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $167,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the first quarter valued at approximately $65,448,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 100.0% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BMI traded up $1.79 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $188.49. 28,739 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 276,116. The company has a market cap of $5.55 billion, a PE ratio of 41.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $221.61 and a 200 day moving average of $216.75. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52-week low of $162.17 and a 52-week high of $256.08.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 15.53%.The company had revenue of $238.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $235.38 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. The company's revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Badger Meter in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $224.00 price objective on Badger Meter in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective 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. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Badger Meter from $216.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Argus set a $240.00 price objective on Badger Meter in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $238.40.

Badger Meter 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.