Tidal Investments LLC Trims Stake in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Tidal Investments LLC reduced its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 9.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 147,423 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 16,095 shares during the quarter. Tidal Investments LLC owned 0.51% of Badger Meter worth $21,875,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. XXEC Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the 2nd quarter valued at about $825,029,000. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 14,467.6% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 4,980,820 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $739,054,000 after purchasing an additional 4,946,629 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the second quarter worth approximately $725,926,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in Badger Meter by 1.4% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,462,807 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $358,315,000 after purchasing an additional 20,122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Badger Meter by 20.9% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 970,219 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $173,262,000 after purchasing an additional 168,053 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Badger Meter from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Badger Meter and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Seaport Research Partners set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $172.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $112.00 target price (up from $109.00) on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.00.

Badger Meter Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of NYSE:BMI opened at $124.50 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.61 billion, a PE ratio of 29.09, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.65. The company’s fifty day moving average is $136.08 and its 200 day moving average is $136.97. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52 week low of $112.09 and a 52 week high of $204.00.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted 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. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 18.03%. The business had revenue of $220.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $220.59 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.17 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 11th. Investors of record on Friday, August 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 28th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. This is a boost from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.12%.

Insider Transactions at Badger Meter

In related news, VP Edward Callahan purchased 751 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $135.25 per share, for a total transaction of $101,572.75. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,937 shares in the company, valued at $261,979.25. The trade was a 63.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Badger Meter 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.