D.B. Root & Company LLC Purchases New Stake in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

D.B. Root & Company LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 4,236 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $629,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BMI. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 76.5% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 150 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 62.3% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 185 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Cardinal Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 20,165 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $3,517,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 4,316 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $753,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 688 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $112.00 price target (up from $109.00) on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $170.00 price objective on Badger Meter and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Seaport Research Partners set a $160.00 price objective on Badger Meter in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Badger Meter from $172.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Badger Meter from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Badger Meter currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In other news, VP Edward F. Callahan purchased 751 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $135.25 per share, with a total value of $101,572.75. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president directly owned 1,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $261,979.25. This trade represents a 63.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Badger Meter Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of BMI opened at $132.19 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $137.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.89, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.65. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1-year low of $112.09 and a 1-year high of $204.00.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced 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 analysts’ expectations of $220.59 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 18.03%. Badger Meter’s quarterly revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.17 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 28th will be paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 28th. This is a boost from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.38%.

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.