MetLife Investment Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

MetLife Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,639 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 315 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned 0.06% of Badger Meter worth $3,634,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BMI. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Badger Meter by 1,016.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 201 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 46.3% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 499 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in Badger Meter by 40.9% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 575 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Annex Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Badger Meter during the third quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Badger Meter in the second quarter worth approximately $207,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Maxim Group boosted their price target on Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $189.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $214.75.

Badger Meter Stock Up 1.7 %

BMI stock opened at $220.42 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $215.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $203.04. The stock has a market cap of $6.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.69, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.78. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.50 and a twelve month high of $230.76.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $208.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $212.08 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.80% and a return on equity of 21.56%. Badger Meter’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is presently 33.75%.

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.