Public Sector Pension Investment Board Boosts Position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board has increased its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. by 27.2% in the first quarter, now owning approximately 0.32% of the company with a total value of $17,741,000.
• Badger Meter recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.17, which was below analysts' consensus estimate of $1.19, despite a 9.9% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.34 to $0.40 per share, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders with a current yield of 0.8%.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 27.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 93,251 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 19,960 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned approximately 0.32% of Badger Meter worth $17,741,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 25.9% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 630,891 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $120,027,000 after buying an additional 129,945 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 9.8% in the first quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 398,588 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $75,831,000 after buying an additional 35,424 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 348,476 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $73,919,000 after buying an additional 27,797 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in Badger Meter in the first quarter valued at approximately $65,448,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 315,375 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $66,897,000 after buying an additional 1,285 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on BMI shares. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Badger Meter in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on 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 Badger Meter in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Argus set a $240.00 target price on Badger Meter in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Badger Meter from $284.00 to $264.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $238.40.

Badger Meter Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE:BMI opened at $188.81 on Tuesday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $227.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $217.41. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12-month low of $162.17 and a 12-month high of $256.08. The firm has a market cap of $5.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.14, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.84.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $235.38 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. The company's revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research 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 issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a boost from Badger Meter's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.63%.

Badger Meter Company 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.

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