Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 600 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System cut its position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 4.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,200 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 600 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $3,101,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $10,622,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Badger Meter by 66.4% during the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 128,651 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $23,974,000 after purchasing an additional 51,318 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 86.2% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 100,788 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $18,782,000 after buying an additional 46,650 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 47.1% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 126,100 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $23,499,000 after buying an additional 40,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 80.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 78,914 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $14,706,000 after acquiring an additional 35,150 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In related news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $224,885.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,861 shares in the company, valued at $791,505. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Badger Meter Price Performance

BMI stock opened at $202.03 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.94 billion, a PE ratio of 58.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.37 and a 12 month high of $230.76. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $210.07 and its 200 day moving average is $196.91.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.03). Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 14.44%. The firm had revenue of $208.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $212.08 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. This is a positive change from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on BMI shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $189.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Maxim Group lifted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Argus upped their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $214.75.

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.