The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Increases Stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 17,249 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 588 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.06% of Badger Meter worth $3,214,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of BMI. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 2,633.3% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 492 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in 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 worth $93,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 40.9% during 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 period. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the 1st quarter valued at about $205,000. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the 2nd quarter valued at about $207,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Badger Meter

In related news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the business’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 owns 3,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $791,505. The trade was 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. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BMI. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $175.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Argus increased their price target on Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Badger Meter from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $200.25.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BMI opened at $226.11 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $6.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.16, 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 $226.90. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $205.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $191.90.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued 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 net margin of 14.44% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The business had revenue of $216.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $203.39 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.76 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.09 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. This is a boost from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is presently 39.19%.

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.