Institute for Wealth Management LLC. Acquires New Position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Institute for Wealth Management LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 1,304 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $243,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 254,870 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $39,344,000 after buying an additional 7,094 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Badger Meter by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,674,493 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $594,570,000 after acquiring an additional 22,707 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Badger Meter by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 288,004 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $44,459,000 after acquiring an additional 4,766 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,069,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Badger Meter by 88.0% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 26,362 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $4,070,000 after acquiring an additional 12,339 shares during the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Badger Meter

In other 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 value of $224,885.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,861 shares in the company, valued at $791,505. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE BMI opened at $202.94 on Monday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $134.06 and a twelve month high of $210.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a PE ratio of 58.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $194.26 and its 200 day moving average is $179.90.

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

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 23rd will be paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. This is a boost from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.