Umpqua Bank Has $635,000 Stock Position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Umpqua Bank lessened its position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 24.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,407 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 1,100 shares during the quarter. Umpqua Bank’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $635,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,674,493 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $594,570,000 after buying an additional 22,707 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 33.7% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 397,614 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $61,380,000 after purchasing an additional 100,304 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Badger Meter by 7.0% in the second 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 in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 29.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 324,720 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $50,127,000 after purchasing an additional 74,578 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth about $47,359,000. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Price Performance

NYSE BMI opened at $190.61 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $196.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $183.03. The firm has a market cap of $5.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.93, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.77. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1 year low of $134.06 and a 1 year high of $210.29.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.44% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The firm had revenue of $216.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $203.39 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.76 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is a positive change from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $224,885.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $791,505. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.