Millennium Management LLC Buys 46,650 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 86.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 100,788 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 46,650 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned 0.34% of Badger Meter worth $18,782,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in Badger Meter by 592.1% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 12,298 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,898,000 after purchasing an additional 10,521 shares in the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at about $730,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth about $1,069,000. RMB Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 153.8% during the 4th quarter. RMB Capital Management LLC now owns 38,231 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $5,902,000 after acquiring an additional 23,169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cim LLC acquired a new stake in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,550,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

BMI opened at $223.58 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $204.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $190.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.57 billion, a PE ratio of 64.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.77. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52 week low of $134.06 and a 52 week high of $223.74.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 14.44%. The business had revenue of $216.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $203.39 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.76 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.09 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors 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 0.61%. This is an increase from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Badger Meter news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $791,505. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. 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 research report on Monday, July 22nd. Argus boosted their target price on Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Badger Meter from $175.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $200.25.

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.