Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its holdings in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,249 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 326 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $1,910,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Badger Meter during the 2nd quarter valued at $257,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 2,204.1% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,341 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $623,000 after purchasing an additional 3,196 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 337,391 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $62,873,000 after purchasing an additional 22,160 shares during the period. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,249,000. Finally, Institute for Wealth Management LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the 2nd quarter valued at $243,000. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Badger Meter

In other news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $224,885.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $791,505. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on BMI shares. Argus lifted their price target on Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com cut Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Badger Meter from $175.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Badger Meter from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $184.20.

Badger Meter Stock Up 1.3 %

Badger Meter stock traded up $2.72 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $206.94. The stock had a trading volume of 284,267 shares, compared to its average volume of 177,431. The company has a 50-day moving average of $195.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $181.40. The company has a market cap of $6.08 billion, a PE ratio of 59.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.78. Badger Meter, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $134.06 and a fifty-two week high of $210.29.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $216.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $203.39 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 14.44%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.76 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 23rd will be issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 23rd. This is a boost from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.19%.

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.