IFP Advisors Inc Lowers Position in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

IFP Advisors Inc cut its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 12.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 470 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 68 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $115,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Values First Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 0.6% during the first quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 8,739 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,663,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 0.6% during the second quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 8,649 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,119,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Norway Savings Bank raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 2.1% during the second quarter. Norway Savings Bank now owns 2,775 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $680,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Choreo LLC increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 4.6% in the first quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 1,361 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,039 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on BMI. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $284.00 to $264.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Badger Meter from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began 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 for the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $224.00 price objective on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Badger Meter presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $237.00.

Badger Meter Trading Up 1.1%

BMI stock opened at $179.89 on Friday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12 month low of $162.17 and a 12 month high of $256.08. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $181.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $208.58. The stock has a market cap of $5.30 billion, a PE ratio of 39.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.90.

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

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is a boost from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.86%.

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.