Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI Shares Bought by Quantbot Technologies LP

Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 258.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 29,393 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,185 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $5,249,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Badger Meter during the second quarter worth approximately $83,548,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 78.1% during the 2nd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 612,809 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $150,108,000 after buying an additional 268,799 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 108.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 342,099 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $83,797,000 after buying an additional 177,781 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 27.1% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 802,166 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $196,491,000 after buying an additional 171,275 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 43.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 503,171 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $89,856,000 after buying an additional 153,213 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on BMI shares. Robert W. Baird set a $165.00 price target on Badger Meter in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $167.00 price objective on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $166.00 price target on shares of Badger Meter and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Argus cut shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $181.88.

Badger Meter Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of NYSE:BMI opened at $152.33 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50 day moving average of $164.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $175.10. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.14 and a 52-week high of $256.08.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $220.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $232.30 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 20.71% and a net margin of 15.45%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.04 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is currently 33.33%.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In related news, CEO Kenneth Bockhorst purchased 3,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $152.42 per share, with a total value of $502,986.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,098,781.46. The trade was a 8.99% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert Wrocklage acquired 1,650 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $152.35 per share, for a total transaction of $251,377.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 19,541 shares in the company, valued at $2,977,071.35. The trade was a 9.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.