Johnson Financial Group Inc. Buys Shares of 6,270 Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 6,270 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $930,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS bought a new position in Badger Meter in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,447,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new stake in Badger Meter during the 4th quarter valued at $2,126,000. Capital Innovations LLC acquired a new position in Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth $6,867,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in Badger Meter by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 166,407 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $29,023,000 after acquiring an additional 20,624 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 113.9% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 95,662 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $16,684,000 after purchasing an additional 50,949 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BMI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $167.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Zacks Research raised Badger Meter from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Maxim Group downgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $170.00 price objective on Badger Meter and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

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

Badger Meter Trading Up 4.0%

Shares of Badger Meter stock opened at $130.94 on Thursday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1-year low of $112.09 and a 1-year high of $204.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $137.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $139.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.59, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.65.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $220.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $220.59 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 18.03% and a net margin of 14.27%.The firm’s revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.17 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 28th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. This is a boost from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 28th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is currently 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.