Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI Position Boosted by Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,514 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $1,351,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Apollon Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the second quarter worth about $265,000. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the second quarter worth about $240,000. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 172.5% during the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 5,938 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,455,000 after purchasing an additional 3,759 shares during the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the second quarter worth about $27,884,000. Finally, Strong Tower Advisory Services bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the second quarter worth about $249,000. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BMI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $216.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Badger Meter from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $284.00 to $264.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Badger Meter from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $237.00.

Badger Meter Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:BMI opened at $179.89 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $181.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $208.49. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52 week low of $162.17 and a 52 week high of $256.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.19, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.90.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.19 by ($0.02). Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The firm had revenue of $238.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $235.38 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. Badger Meter’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 22nd. This is an increase from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.86%.

Badger Meter Company Profile

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.