Jump Financial LLC Buys 34,709 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Key Points

• Jump Financial LLC significantly increased its stake in Badger Meter, acquiring an additional 34,709 shares, bringing their total ownership to 37,433 shares valued at approximately $7.12 million.
• Badger Meter recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, marking an increase from the previous dividend of $0.34, with an annualized yield of 0.8%.
• The company reported Q2 earnings of $1.17 EPS, missing estimates by $0.02; however, revenue of $238.1 million surpassed expectations, showcasing a year-over-year increase of 9.9%.

Jump Financial LLC increased its position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 1,274.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,433 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after acquiring an additional 34,709 shares during the quarter. Jump Financial LLC owned about 0.13% of Badger Meter worth $7,122,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position 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 during the period. 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 boosted its position 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 during the period. 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 boosted its position 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 during the period. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BMI traded down $2.06 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $186.34. The stock had a trading volume of 253,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 279,254. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1 year low of $162.17 and a 1 year high of $256.08. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $213.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $215.30. The firm has a market cap of $5.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 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 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 firm had revenue of $238.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $235.38 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.12 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 payout ratio is presently 34.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on BMI shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $216.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $224.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $284.00 to $264.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.