23,000 Shares in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI Acquired by Norwood Investment Partners LP

Norwood Investment Partners LP acquired a new stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 23,000 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,412,740. Badger Meter comprises approximately 0.0% of Norwood Investment Partners LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Norwood Investment Partners LP owned about 0.08% of Badger Meter at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,447,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 166,407 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $29,023,000 after acquiring an additional 20,624 shares in the last quarter. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth $2,126,000. Capital Innovations LLC acquired a new position in Badger Meter during the 4th quarter valued at about $6,867,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 113.9% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 95,662 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $16,684,000 after purchasing an additional 50,949 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BMI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Badger Meter from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $170.00 price target on Badger Meter and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Badger Meter from $172.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Badger Meter from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Five 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Edward F. Callahan purchased 751 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $135.25 per share, for a total transaction of $101,572.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 1,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $261,979.25. The trade was a 63.32% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Stock Down 1.5%

Badger Meter stock traded down $2.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $136.02. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 116,699 shares, compared to its average volume of 493,135. Badger Meter, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $112.09 and a fifty-two week high of $204.00. The company has a market cap of $3.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $137.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.76.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.01. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 18.03% and a net margin of 14.27%.The firm had revenue of $220.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $220.59 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.17 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 28th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. This is an increase from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.12%.

About Badger Meter

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.