MetLife Investment Management LLC Sells 315 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

MetLife Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,639 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 315 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $3,634,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BMI. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 1,016.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 201 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 46.3% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 499 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in Badger Meter by 40.9% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 575 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Badger Meter during the third quarter worth approximately $204,000. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Badger Meter during the second quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Maxim Group raised their price target on Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $189.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $214.75.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

BMI opened at $220.42 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $215.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $203.04. Badger Meter, Inc. has a one year low of $139.50 and a one year high of $230.76. The stock has a market cap of $6.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.78.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.03). Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.80% and a return on equity of 21.56%. The business had revenue of $208.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $212.08 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. Badger Meter’s revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is presently 33.75%.

About Badger Meter

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.