Renaissance Technologies LLC Grows Stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 47.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 126,100 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 40,400 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.43% of Badger Meter worth $23,499,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 2,633.3% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 492 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased 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. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 615 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $791,505. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Badger Meter Trading Up 3.6 %

Badger Meter stock opened at $219.54 on Friday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $134.06 and a twelve month high of $219.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $200.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $185.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.27, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.77.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $216.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $203.39 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 14.44%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were issued a $0.34 dividend. 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 0.62%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.19%.

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.