Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 1.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 227,390 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 3,340 shares during the quarter. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $55,699,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of BMI. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 135,070 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $33,085,000 after acquiring an additional 3,219 shares in the last quarter. Dundas Partners LLP lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 431.4% during the second quarter. Dundas Partners LLP now owns 8,444 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,068,000 after purchasing an additional 6,855 shares in the last quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 4.6% during the second quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 1,296 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Badger Meter by 148.3% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 48,190 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $11,804,000 after purchasing an additional 28,779 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Archer Investment Corp increased its stake in Badger Meter by 45.4% in the 2nd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 785 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $192,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Badger Meter Stock Up 5.8%

Shares of NYSE:BMI opened at $177.89 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a PE ratio of 37.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.94. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $162.17 and a twelve month high of $256.08. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $179.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $205.66.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $235.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $231.88 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.40% and a return on equity of 21.12%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Badger Meter from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research raised shares of Badger Meter from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Robert W. Baird set a $205.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $208.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $227.33.

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.