Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $4.55 Million Stock Position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its holdings in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,401 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 1,058 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.08% of Badger Meter worth $4,547,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Badger Meter by 33.7% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 397,614 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $61,380,000 after purchasing an additional 100,304 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 29.8% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 324,720 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $50,127,000 after buying an additional 74,578 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at about $10,360,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Badger Meter by 47.1% during 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 buying an additional 40,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Badger Meter by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,651,786 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $563,726,000 after acquiring an additional 37,517 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Argus raised 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 Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Badger Meter from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Badger Meter from $175.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Four equities research 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.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $184.20.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of BMI stock opened at $216.14 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.29, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $202.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $188.23. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1 year low of $134.06 and a 1 year high of $220.25.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.09. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 14.44%. The company had revenue of $216.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $203.39 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.76 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. This is an increase 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%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the company’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 transaction of $224,885.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $791,505. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Badger Meter Company 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.