Truist Financial Corp Reduces Position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Truist Financial Corp reduced its position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 14.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,391 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 417 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $445,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BMI. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 33.7% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 397,614 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $61,380,000 after buying an additional 100,304 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Badger Meter during the 2nd quarter valued at $10,622,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Badger Meter by 66.4% during the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 128,651 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $23,974,000 after purchasing an additional 51,318 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 86.2% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 100,788 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $18,782,000 after acquiring an additional 46,650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 47.1% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 126,100 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $23,499,000 after acquiring an additional 40,400 shares during the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Badger Meter Price Performance

BMI stock opened at $219.57 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $208.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $194.39. Badger Meter, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $134.06 and a fifty-two week high of $230.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.45 billion, a PE ratio of 63.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.12 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $216.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $203.39 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.76 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The company 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 positive change from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 39.19%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BMI. StockNews.com cut shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $189.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective 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. Finally, Argus increased 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $203.00.

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.