Royal Bank of Canada Sells 6,343 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Royal Bank of Canada decreased its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 4.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 152,768 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 6,343 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.52% of Badger Meter worth $29,064,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BMI. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 1st quarter valued at $65,448,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 1st quarter valued at $44,715,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 21,179.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167,040 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $31,779,000 after purchasing an additional 166,255 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 25.9% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 630,891 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $120,027,000 after purchasing an additional 129,945 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 1,451.3% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 134,715 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $25,630,000 after purchasing an additional 126,031 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of BMI stock traded up $3.22 during trading on Thursday, reaching $180.70. The company had a trading volume of 144,903 shares, compared to its average volume of 280,291. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $201.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $212.89. Badger Meter, Inc. has a one year low of $162.17 and a one year high of $256.08. The company has a market capitalization of $5.33 billion, a PE ratio of 39.37, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.87.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by ($0.02). Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The company had revenue of $238.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $235.38 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.12 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 22nd. This is a positive change from Badger Meter's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on BMI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Badger Meter in a research report on Tuesday. They set an "overweight" rating and a $230.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Badger Meter from $284.00 to $264.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $224.00 price objective on Badger Meter in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Badger Meter in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Badger Meter from $216.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Badger Meter currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.00.

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.