Michael J. Porro & Co. Financial Advisors Inc. Makes New $617,000 Investment in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Michael J. Porro & Co. Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 4,995 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $617,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new position in Badger Meter during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Badger Meter during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Badger Meter during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Badger Meter during the 2nd quarter valued at about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In other news, VP Edward Callahan acquired 751 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $135.25 per share, with a total value 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 represents a 63.32% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

BMI opened at $127.36 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.69 billion, a PE ratio of 29.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.64. Badger Meter, Inc. has a one year low of $112.09 and a one year high of $204.00. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $130.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $133.07.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.01. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 18.03% and a net margin of 14.27%. The business had revenue of $220.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $220.59 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.17 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.50 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 28th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This is an increase from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 28th. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on BMI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $172.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Badger Meter from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $170.00 price target on Badger Meter and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Zacks Research upgraded Badger Meter from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners set a $160.00 target price on Badger Meter in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $161.88.

Badger Meter Company Profile

Badger Meter, Inc is a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based manufacturer of flow measurement, control and communications solutions. The company primarily serves the water industry, providing technologies that help utilities and other customers measure, manage and monitor the use and movement of water.

Its products include ultrasonic, electromagnetic and mechanical water meters, as well as flow instrumentation and related control equipment. Badger Meter also offers advanced metering infrastructure and remote monitoring solutions, including its ORION and BEACON platforms, which support automated meter reading, data collection, leak detection and utility management.

Founded in 1905, Badger Meter serves municipal water utilities, commercial and industrial customers, and other water-related markets in North America and internationally.