Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 53,469 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Victory Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 36.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 94,948 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 53,469 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.32% of Badger Meter worth $20,738,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BMI. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the 2nd quarter worth $10,622,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 66.4% in the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 128,651 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $23,974,000 after purchasing an additional 51,318 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 86.2% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 100,788 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $18,782,000 after purchasing an additional 46,650 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 47.1% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 126,100 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $23,499,000 after purchasing an additional 40,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 80.3% in the second quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 78,914 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $14,706,000 after purchasing an additional 35,150 shares during the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Badger Meter Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:BMI opened at $212.97 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $6.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $213.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $201.22. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12 month low of $139.50 and a 12 month high of $230.76.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.03). Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.80% and a return on equity of 21.56%. The company had revenue of $208.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $212.08 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. Badger Meter’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.75%.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In related news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $224,885.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,861 shares in the company, valued at $791,505. The trade was a 22.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.