Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Reduces Position in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc decreased its position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 12.5% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 8,748 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 1,250 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $2,143,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Inspire Advisors LLC grew its stake in Badger Meter by 23.5% during the 2nd quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 1,595 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $391,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 2nd quarter valued at $303,000. Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,293,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 10.6% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 2,334 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $572,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 28.0% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 22,847 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $5,596,000 after purchasing an additional 4,998 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Stock Down 2.9%

BMI opened at $177.27 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $179.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $204.49. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52-week low of $162.17 and a 52-week high of $256.08. The company has a market cap of $5.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.72, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.94.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $235.65 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $231.88 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.40% and a return on equity of 21.12%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 21st will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 21st. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Badger Meter from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $229.00 price objective on shares of Badger Meter and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $208.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Badger Meter and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $227.33.

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.