IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd Sells 1,151 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd trimmed its position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,503 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 1,151 shares during the quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $3,063,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BMI. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 22.7% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 2,731 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $519,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Badger Meter by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 878 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in Badger Meter in the first quarter worth about $65,448,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 100.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the second quarter valued at approximately $343,000. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $208.00 to $215.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded Badger Meter from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $229.00 target price on Badger Meter and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $205.00 price target on shares of Badger Meter and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $227.33.

Badger Meter Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of BMI stock opened at $183.25 on Tuesday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $162.17 and a twelve month high of $256.08. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $180.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $209.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.90.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 21st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.08. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.12% and a net margin of 15.40%.The firm had revenue of $235.65 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $231.88 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 22nd. This is a boost from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.04%.

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.