Jump Financial LLC Grows Stake in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Jump Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 34.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 50,410 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,977 shares during the quarter. Jump Financial LLC owned about 0.17% of Badger Meter worth $12,348,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMI. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 170.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 165 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the second quarter worth $54,000. MAI Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 57.6% during the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 260 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 2nd quarter valued at $66,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Badger Meter in the 2nd quarter worth $80,000. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on BMI shares. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $229.00 price target on Badger Meter and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Zacks Research raised Badger Meter from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $208.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Robert W. Baird set a $205.00 price target on shares of Badger Meter and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 price objective for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $227.33.

Badger Meter Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of BMI stock opened at $180.24 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $179.68 and a 200 day moving average of $200.95. The stock has a market cap of $5.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.93. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $162.17 and a twelve month high of $256.08.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $235.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $231.88 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.12% and a net margin of 15.40%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 5th. Investors of record on Friday, November 21st were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is 34.04%.

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.