Ethic Inc. Increases Stock Position in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Ethic Inc. boosted its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 32.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,647 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,633 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $1,636,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 25.9% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 630,891 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $120,027,000 after acquiring an additional 129,945 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 2.1% during the second quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 407,059 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $99,709,000 after acquiring an additional 8,471 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the first quarter worth approximately $65,448,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 2.8% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 305,039 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $58,034,000 after acquiring an additional 8,345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 1.7% during the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 291,637 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $55,484,000 after acquiring an additional 4,807 shares in the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Badger Meter Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE:BMI opened at $187.55 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $180.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $208.93. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $162.17 and a twelve month high of $256.08.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $235.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $231.88 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.40% and a return on equity of 21.12%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is a boost from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is presently 34.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BMI has been the topic of several research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Badger Meter from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Robert W. Baird set a $205.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $229.00 price target on shares of Badger Meter and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $227.33.

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.