BKM Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,200 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Badger Meter by 1,016.7% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 201 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 2,633.3% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 492 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 46.3% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 499 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 40.9% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 575 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Annex Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $204,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:BMI opened at $202.03 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.22, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $210.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $196.61. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.37 and a twelve month high of $230.76.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.03). Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.44% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The business had revenue of $208.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.08 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. This is a boost from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BMI. Argus lifted their price objective on Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $189.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Maxim Group lifted their target price 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $214.75.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $224,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $791,505. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.