Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Shares Sold by Vestcor Inc

Vestcor Inc cut its holdings in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 39.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,956 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 1,261 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $427,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMI. Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 4.2% in the second quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in Badger Meter by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,312 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,165,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,635 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $357,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. grew its position in shares of Badger Meter by 5.0% during the second quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 1,871 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $349,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Argus Investors Counsel Inc. increased its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 4.8% during the second quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 2,401 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $447,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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 stock. Maxim Group lifted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $203.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $216.00.

Badger Meter Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of Badger Meter stock opened at $226.19 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $217.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $204.75. The stock has a market cap of $6.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.13, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.79. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.50 and a 12-month high of $239.11.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.03). Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.80% and a return on equity of 21.56%. The company had revenue of $208.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.08 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.75%.

Badger Meter Profile

Badger Meter, Inc manufactures and markets flow measurement, quality, control, and communication solutions worldwide. It offers mechanical or static water meters, and related radio and software technologies and services to municipal water utilities market. The company also provides flow instrumentation products, including meters, valves, and other sensing instruments to measure and control fluids going through a pipe or pipeline, including water, air, steam, and other liquids and gases to original equipment manufacturers as the primary flow measurement device within a product or system, as well as through manufacturers' representatives.