Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Shares Sold by Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd.

Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. cut its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 56.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,312 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 1,693 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd.’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $244,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Badger Meter during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $314,000. Creative Planning lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 11.7% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,039 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,057,000 after purchasing an additional 1,159 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 60.6% during the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 55,534 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $10,349,000 after purchasing an additional 20,965 shares during the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 66.4% in the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 128,651 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $23,974,000 after purchasing an additional 51,318 shares during the period. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC increased its stake in Badger Meter by 72.3% during the second quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 19,783 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $3,687,000 after purchasing an additional 8,298 shares during the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Badger Meter Price Performance

BMI stock opened at $217.83 on Wednesday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52-week low of $134.06 and a 52-week high of $220.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $203.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $189.15.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $216.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $203.39 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 14.44%. Badger Meter’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.76 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. This is a positive change from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is 39.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BMI. Argus raised their price target 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Badger Meter from $175.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $200.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the 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 completion of 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.