OFI Invest Asset Management Invests $23.28 Million in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 95,033 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,278,000. OFI Invest Asset Management owned 0.32% of Badger Meter at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in Badger Meter during the 1st quarter valued at about $65,448,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Badger Meter during the 1st quarter valued at about $44,715,000. Invesco Ltd. grew 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 purchasing an additional 129,945 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in Badger Meter by 1,451.3% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 134,715 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $25,630,000 after purchasing an additional 126,031 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Badger Meter by 1,239.4% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 128,961 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $24,535,000 after purchasing an additional 119,333 shares during the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on BMI shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $224.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $216.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $237.00.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

BMI stock opened at $172.70 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $181.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $209.05. Badger Meter, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $162.17 and a fifty-two week high of $256.08. The firm has a market cap of $5.09 billion, a PE ratio of 37.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.90.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by ($0.02). Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The business had revenue of $238.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $235.38 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.12 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

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