Van ECK Associates Corp Buys 2,353 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 13.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,434 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,353 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 0.07% of Badger Meter worth $3,808,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BMI. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 88.0% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 26,362 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $4,070,000 after acquiring an additional 12,339 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 1,589 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $245,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 288,004 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $44,459,000 after acquiring an additional 4,766 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,506,000. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 1,796 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

BMI stock opened at $194.87 on Thursday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $134.06 and a fifty-two week high of $210.29. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $196.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $182.55. The company has a market capitalization of $5.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.78.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.09. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 14.44%. The firm had revenue of $216.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $203.39 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.76 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is an increase from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is 39.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BMI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Badger Meter from $175.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com downgraded Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Argus boosted their price target on Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Badger Meter from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $184.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $224,885.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $791,505. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Badger Meter Company 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.