Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI Shares Sold by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. reduced its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. by 6.1%, bringing its ownership to 91,136 shares worth approximately $17.3 million.
• Badger Meter recently reported an EPS of $1.17 for the quarter, slightly below analysts' expectations, while also showing a 9.9% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40, up from the previous $0.34, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Raymond James Financial Inc. trimmed its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 6.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 91,136 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 5,912 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.31% of Badger Meter worth $17,339,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. 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 purchasing an additional 506 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the first quarter valued at about $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 purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the first quarter valued at about $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 purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BMI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $224.00 price objective on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $284.00 to $264.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $238.40.

Badger Meter Stock Down 1.0%

BMI stock traded down $1.79 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $181.13. 312,409 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 286,329. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.46, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $208.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $214.36. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12-month low of $162.17 and a 12-month high of $256.08.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $238.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $235.38 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 15.53%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.12 EPS. Research analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be given 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.86%.

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.