Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI Shares Sold by Northern Trust Corp

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp reduced its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. by 3.3%, selling 11,571 shares, and now owns approximately 1.14% of the company valued at $64 million.
• Badger Meter's stock is currently trading at $185.23, down 2.1%, with a 12-month low of $162.17 and a high of $256.08.
• The company has increased its quarterly dividend to $0.40 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $1.60 and a yield of 0.9%, effective September 5th.

Northern Trust Corp reduced its position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 3.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 336,905 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 11,571 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.14% of Badger Meter worth $64,096,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Corient IA LLC purchased a new stake in Badger Meter in the 1st quarter worth about $571,000. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT raised its position in Badger Meter by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 3,450 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $656,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Badger Meter by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 17,411 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $3,312,000 after purchasing an additional 728 shares during the period. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Badger Meter in the 1st quarter worth about $603,000. Finally, KLCM Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Badger Meter in the 1st quarter worth about $304,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on BMI shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $216.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock 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 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 research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Badger Meter presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $238.40.

Badger Meter Stock Down 2.0%

BMI stock traded down $3.80 during trading on Friday, hitting $182.69. 412,986 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 280,064. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.80, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $212.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $215.10. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1 year low of $162.17 and a 1 year high of $256.08.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $238.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $235.38 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict 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 issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. 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 yield of 0.9%. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio is 34.86%.

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.