211,253 Shares in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI Bought by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 211,253 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,346,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.73% of Badger Meter at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BMI. XXEC Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the 2nd quarter worth about $825,029,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the second quarter valued at about $725,926,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at about $83,819,000. UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 89.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 712,650 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $124,293,000 after purchasing an additional 335,953 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 99.5% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 401,668 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $72,203,000 after purchasing an additional 200,330 shares during the period. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In other news, VP Edward F. Callahan bought 751 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $135.25 per share, for a total transaction of $101,572.75. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president owned 1,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $261,979.25. This trade represents a 63.32% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on BMI. Stifel Nicolaus set a $170.00 target price on Badger Meter and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings raised Badger Meter from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Badger Meter from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Seaport Research Partners set a $160.00 price objective on Badger Meter in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $112.00 price objective (up from $109.00) on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.00.

Badger Meter Stock Down 1.8%

BMI stock opened at $135.68 on Friday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $112.09 and a twelve month high of $204.00. The company has a market cap of $3.93 billion, a PE ratio of 31.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.65. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $137.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $138.74.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.01. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 18.03% and a net margin of 14.27%.The firm had revenue of $220.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $220.59 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 28th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This is a boost from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 28th. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.38%.

Badger Meter Company Profile

Badger Meter, founded in 1905 and headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a global leader in flow measurement and control solutions. The company’s core business centers on the design, manufacture and sale of water meters, control valves and related accessories for municipal and industrial water utilities. Over its more than a century of operation, Badger Meter has built a reputation for precision engineering, durability and compliance with international regulatory standards.

The company’s product portfolio includes mechanical and ultrasonic water meters, electromagnetic flow meters for industrial applications, and a range of control valves that help utilities manage pressure and flow in distribution networks.