United Services Automobile Association Acquires Shares of 1,941 Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Key Points

• United Services Automobile Association has made a new investment in Badger Meter, acquiring 1,941 shares valued at approximately $369,000.
• A number of institutional investors have significantly increased their positions in Badger Meter, with one firm growing its stake by 771.9% during the first quarter.
• Analysts have set a consensus price target of $237.00 for Badger Meter, with three analysts rating the stock as a Buy and three as Hold.

United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,941 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $369,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BMI. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake 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 buying an additional 129,945 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted 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 acquiring an additional 35,424 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in Badger Meter during the 1st quarter worth approximately $65,448,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Badger Meter by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 291,637 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $55,484,000 after buying an additional 4,807 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 257,863 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $49,060,000 after purchasing an additional 1,646 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $284.00 to $264.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note 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 on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $224.00 price objective on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $230.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $216.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.00.

Badger Meter Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of BMI traded down $2.66 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $177.11. 159,462 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 281,333. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1-year low of $162.17 and a 1-year high of $256.08. The company has a market capitalization of $5.22 billion, a PE ratio of 38.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a 50 day moving average of $197.47 and a 200 day moving average of $212.37.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last posted 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). 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $235.38 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. The business's revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd were issued a $0.40 dividend. This is a boost from Badger Meter's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.86%.

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.