Cullen Capital Management LLC Acquires Shares of 4,436 Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Cullen Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 4,436 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $658,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 76.5% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 150 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC bought a new stake in Badger Meter in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Badger Meter during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $172.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $112.00 price objective (up from $109.00) on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners set a $160.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Five 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Edward F. Callahan purchased 751 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The stock was purchased 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 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Badger Meter Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of BMI opened at $136.83 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $137.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.91. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $112.09 and a twelve month high of $204.00. The stock has a market cap of $3.97 billion, a PE ratio of 31.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.65.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released 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 analyst estimates of $220.59 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 18.03%. Badger Meter’s revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.17 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 28th will be paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 28th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. This is a boost from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.38%.

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.