Virtu Financial LLC Makes New $447,000 Investment in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC has acquired a new stake in Badger Meter, Inc. valued at approximately $447,000, acquiring a total of 2,353 shares.
• Badger Meter reported earnings per share of $1.17 for the latest quarter, missing estimates by 0.02 but achieved a revenue of $238.10 million, surpassing expectations.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40, representing an increase from the previous dividend and a total annualized yield of 0.8%.

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of 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. The fund purchased 2,353 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $447,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Badger Meter by 25.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 129,945 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 9.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 35,424 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew 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 worth $73,919,000 after purchasing an additional 27,797 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in Badger Meter in the first quarter worth $65,448,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings 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 worth $66,897,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BMI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Badger Meter from $216.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $224.00 price target on Badger Meter in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Argus set a $240.00 price target on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $238.40.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BMI traded up $0.25 during trading on Monday, hitting $187.07. 46,731 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 277,137. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $222.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $216.93. The company has a market cap of $5.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.76, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.84. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52-week low of $162.17 and a 52-week high of $256.08.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last released 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). The company had revenue of $238.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $235.38 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.12 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. This is a positive change from Badger Meter's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.