12,443 Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI Shares Sold by Van Berkom & Associates Inc.

Van Berkom & Associates Inc. reduced its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 317,941 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 12,443 shares during the quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. owned 1.11% of Badger Meter worth $39,278,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BMI. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Badger Meter by 8.7% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,024 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 2.4% during the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 3,680 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Norway Savings Bank boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 3.2% during the third quarter. Norway Savings Bank now owns 4,133 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $511,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Farrow Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 0.9% during the third quarter. Farrow Financial Inc. now owns 19,244 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,377,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE:BMI opened at $159.20 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.55 billion, a PE ratio of 36.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.63. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $135.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.75. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12-month low of $112.09 and a 12-month high of $192.28.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.01. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 14.36%. The firm had revenue of $230.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $240.35 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. Badger Meter’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.53 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 28th were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 28th. This is a boost from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BMI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Northcoast Research downgraded Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Badger Meter from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $187.00 target price (up from $162.00) on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $168.00 target price on Badger Meter in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $166.33.

About Badger Meter

Badger Meter, Inc is a Milwaukee-based manufacturer of products and systems used to measure and manage water and other fluid flows. Founded in 1905, the company serves municipal water utilities as well as commercial and industrial customers.

Its offerings include water meters, flow instrumentation and related communications technology that helps customers collect and analyze usage data. Badger Meter also provides water quality monitoring equipment and software for tracking water system performance and supporting operational decisions.

The company serves customers in North America and international markets through its sales and distribution networks.