25,277 Shares in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI Purchased by Trillium Asset Management LLC

Trillium Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 25,277 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,751,000. Trillium Asset Management LLC owned 0.09% of Badger Meter at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BMI. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 1st quarter worth about $1,447,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new position in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth about $2,126,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Badger Meter by 14.1% in 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 buying an additional 20,624 shares in the last quarter. Capital Innovations LLC bought a new stake in Badger Meter during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,867,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 113.9% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 95,662 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $16,684,000 after acquiring an additional 50,949 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In related news, VP Edward F. Callahan bought 751 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $135.25 per share, with a total value of $101,572.75. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president owned 1,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $261,979.25. The trade was a 63.32% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on BMI shares. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $112.00 target price (up from $109.00) on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $170.00 price target on Badger Meter and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Badger Meter from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Seaport Research Partners set a $160.00 price objective on Badger Meter in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Maxim Group cut shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.00.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

BMI stock opened at $128.13 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $137.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $139.20. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52-week low of $112.09 and a 52-week high of $204.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.94, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.65.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.02 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $220.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $220.59 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.17 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 28th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. This is a positive change from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 28th. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.38%.

Badger Meter Profile

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.