Choreo LLC Buys Shares of 1,420 Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Choreo LLC purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,420 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 158 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 40.9% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 575 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC raised its stake in Badger Meter by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 615 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE BMI opened at $211.84 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $199.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $185.67. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12 month low of $134.06 and a 12 month high of $217.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.05, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. This is an increase from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is presently 39.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity

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

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.