Public Sector Pension Investment Board Reduces Holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board reduced its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 62,432 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 2,200 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned about 0.21% of Badger Meter worth $13,636,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMI. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Badger Meter during the 2nd quarter worth $10,622,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 66.4% during the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 128,651 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $23,974,000 after acquiring an additional 51,318 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 86.2% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 100,788 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $18,782,000 after acquiring an additional 46,650 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 47.1% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 126,100 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $23,499,000 after acquiring an additional 40,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 80.3% during the 2nd quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 78,914 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $14,706,000 after acquiring an additional 35,150 shares in the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Maxim Group lifted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $189.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Badger Meter has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $214.75.

Badger Meter Stock Up 0.2 %

Badger Meter stock opened at $216.36 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $215.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $202.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.69, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.78. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.50 and a 52-week high of $230.76.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.03). Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.80% and a return on equity of 21.56%. The firm had revenue of $208.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.08 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.75%.

About Badger Meter

Badger Meter, Inc manufactures and markets flow measurement, quality, control, and communication solutions worldwide. It offers mechanical or static water meters, and related radio and software technologies and services to municipal water utilities market. The company also provides flow instrumentation products, including meters, valves, and other sensing instruments to measure and control fluids going through a pipe or pipeline, including water, air, steam, and other liquids and gases to original equipment manufacturers as the primary flow measurement device within a product or system, as well as through manufacturers' representatives.