Xponance Inc. Acquires 89 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 5.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,871 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $349,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BMI. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 2,633.3% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 492 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 46.3% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 499 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 9.8% in the first quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 615 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 40.9% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 575 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TFO Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Badger Meter by 91,500.0% during the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 916 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $154,000 after acquiring an additional 915 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of BMI opened at $217.83 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.40 billion, a PE ratio of 62.78, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50-day moving average is $203.14 and its 200-day moving average is $189.15. Badger Meter, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $134.06 and a fifty-two week high of $220.25.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 14.44% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The company’s revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.76 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. This is an increase from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is 39.19%.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BMI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Argus upped their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $175.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $200.25.

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.