4,204 Shares in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI Acquired by Sage Private Wealth Group LLC

Sage Private Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 4,204 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $519,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMI. XXEC Inc. bought a new position in Badger Meter during the 2nd quarter valued at $825,029,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the 2nd quarter valued at $725,926,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 2nd quarter worth $68,344,000. American Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 2nd quarter worth $38,318,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the second quarter valued at $31,346,000. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on BMI shares. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $111.00 target price (down from $112.00) on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Robert W. Baird set a $167.00 target price on Badger Meter and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Seaport Research Partners set a $160.00 price target on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Badger Meter from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $159.38.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Edward Callahan bought 751 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $261,979.25. This trade represents a 63.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Badger Meter stock opened at $132.01 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.64. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1 year low of $112.09 and a 1 year high of $193.06. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $129.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $132.38.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $220.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $220.59 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 18.03% and a net margin of 14.27%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.50 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 28th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is a boost from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 28th. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is presently 41.12%.

Badger Meter Profile

Badger Meter, Inc is a water technology company that develops and manufactures flow measurement, control and communications solutions. Its products are used to measure and manage water across municipal, commercial and industrial applications, helping customers improve operational efficiency, monitor usage and support water conservation.

The company’s offerings include mechanical, ultrasonic and electromagnetic flow meters; valves and related flow-control equipment; and smart water technologies.