2,493 Shares in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Bought by Kesler Norman & Wride LLC

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,493 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $545,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 4.2% in the second quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Farrow Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 0.4% in the second quarter. Farrow Financial Inc. now owns 20,064 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $3,739,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 5.0% in the second quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 1,871 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 4.8% in the second quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 2,401 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $447,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arjuna Capital lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 4.4% in the first quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 2,636 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Badger Meter Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:BMI opened at $226.11 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $205.35 and a 200 day moving average of $191.90. The stock 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 12 month low of $134.06 and a 12 month high of $226.90.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $216.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $203.39 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.44% and a return on equity of 21.42%. Badger Meter’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.76 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders 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 0.60%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. This is a boost from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Badger Meter news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the business’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 transaction, the vice president now owns 3,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $791,505. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.