Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Shares Sold by Select Equity Group L.P.

Select Equity Group L.P. lowered its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 7.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,248 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 942 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P.’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $2,282,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMI. 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 buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Farrow Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Farrow Financial Inc. now owns 20,064 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $3,739,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its position in Badger Meter by 5.0% during the second quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 1,871 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $349,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Argus Investors Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 4.8% in the second quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 2,401 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $447,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Badger Meter Price Performance

NYSE BMI opened at $216.14 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $202.80 and a 200-day moving average of $188.23. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12 month low of $134.06 and a 12 month high of $220.25. The company has a market cap of $6.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.77.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.12 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $216.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $203.39 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.76 earnings per share. Badger Meter’s revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.09 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were paid a $0.34 dividend. This is a positive change from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

Insider Transactions at Badger Meter

In related news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $224,885.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,861 shares in the company, valued at $791,505. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.