Man Group plc Buys Shares of 6,059 Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Man Group plc bought a new stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,059 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $899,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS purchased a new position in Badger Meter in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,447,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new stake in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth about $2,126,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Badger Meter by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 166,407 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $29,023,000 after purchasing an additional 20,624 shares during the period. Capital Innovations LLC purchased a new position in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth about $6,867,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 113.9% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 95,662 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $16,684,000 after purchasing an additional 50,949 shares during the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, VP Edward Callahan purchased 751 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $135.25 per share, for a total transaction of $101,572.75. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president directly owned 1,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $261,979.25. This trade represents a 63.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BMI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Robert W. Baird set a $167.00 target price on Badger Meter and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Seaport Research Partners set a $160.00 price target on Badger Meter in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Zacks Research raised Badger Meter from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.00.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Badger Meter stock opened at $136.34 on Friday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $112.09 and a fifty-two week high of $204.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $137.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.03. The company has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a PE ratio of 31.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.65.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.01. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 18.03% and a net margin of 14.27%.The business had revenue of $220.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $220.59 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.17 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 28th will be given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 28th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. This is an increase from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.12%.

About Badger Meter

Badger Meter, founded in 1905 and headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a global leader in flow measurement and control solutions. The company’s core business centers on the design, manufacture and sale of water meters, control valves and related accessories for municipal and industrial water utilities. Over its more than a century of operation, Badger Meter has built a reputation for precision engineering, durability and compliance with international regulatory standards.

The company’s product portfolio includes mechanical and ultrasonic water meters, electromagnetic flow meters for industrial applications, and a range of control valves that help utilities manage pressure and flow in distribution networks.