Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Trims Stake in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lessened its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 4.1% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 34,974 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 1,513 shares during the quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $8,567,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BMI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus set a $224.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 target price 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $237.00.

Badger Meter Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of BMI stock opened at $177.47 on Tuesday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12-month low of $162.17 and a 12-month high of $256.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $181.81 and its 200 day moving average is $209.07.

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

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 is a positive change from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is 34.86%.

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.