Ballentine Partners LLC Purchases New Shares in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,302 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $243,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 2,633.3% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 492 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 46.3% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 499 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 615 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on BMI shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Badger Meter from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Badger Meter from $175.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Argus raised their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $184.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $224,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $791,505. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

NYSE BMI opened at $199.88 on Thursday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a one year low of $134.06 and a one year high of $210.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $197.21 and a 200 day moving average of $183.75. The company has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.60, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.77.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.09. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.44% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The firm had revenue of $216.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $203.39 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.76 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. This is a positive change from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

About Badger Meter

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.