Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC lifted its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 72.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,783 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 8,298 shares during the quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $3,687,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 4.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Farrow Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 1,871 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Argus Investors Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 2,401 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $447,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. 89.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BMI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Badger Meter from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Argus increased their price objective 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, Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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. 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $200.25.

Badger Meter Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Badger Meter stock opened at $216.24 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $6.36 billion, a PE ratio of 62.32, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $202.80 and a 200 day moving average of $188.44. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12 month low of $134.06 and a 12 month high of $220.25.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $216.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $203.39 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.44% and a return on equity of 21.42%. Badger Meter’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.76 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders 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 0.63%. This is a boost 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 currently 39.19%.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $791,505. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is owned by 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.