Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Trims Stock Position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP decreased its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 606,654 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 56,681 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 2.06% of Badger Meter worth $113,050,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BMI. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at $47,359,000. UBS Group AG raised its position in Badger Meter by 27.0% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 79,280 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $12,238,000 after purchasing an additional 16,849 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Badger Meter by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 11,535 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,781,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at $235,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its position in Badger Meter by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 30,681 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $4,736,000 after purchasing an additional 1,109 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. 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 research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $175.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of 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 given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $184.20.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In related news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $224,885.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $791,505. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Badger Meter Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:BMI opened at $219.09 on Tuesday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $134.06 and a fifty-two week high of $220.25. The stock has a market cap of $6.44 billion, a PE ratio of 63.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $201.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $187.03.

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

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. This is a boost from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.