UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC Purchases 8,345 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Key Points

• UBS AM has increased its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. by 2.8%, now owning approximately 1.04% of the company, valued at $58.03 million.
• Badger Meter recently reported a quarterly EPS of $1.17, slightly missing the consensus estimate of $1.19, while its revenue of $238.10 million exceeded expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.40 per share, reflecting a positive change from the previous dividend and highlighting a dividend yield of 0.9%.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 2.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 305,039 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,345 shares during the quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned 1.04% of Badger Meter worth $58,034,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on BMI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $230.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Badger Meter in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Badger Meter from $284.00 to $264.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Badger Meter from $216.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $224.00 target price on Badger Meter in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Badger Meter presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.00.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of Badger Meter stock traded down $1.15 on Friday, hitting $177.19. The stock had a trading volume of 912,836 shares, compared to its average volume of 359,678. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.60, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $192.44 and a 200 day moving average of $211.41. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $162.17 and a twelve month high of $256.08.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $238.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $235.38 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.12 EPS. Equities analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a positive change from Badger Meter's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Badger Meter's 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.