AlphaMark Advisors LLC Buys New Holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,668 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $364,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Badger Meter by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,674,493 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $594,570,000 after acquiring an additional 22,707 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth about $1,069,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 15.1% in the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,636 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $4,218,000 after buying an additional 2,964 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new position in Badger Meter during the first quarter valued at approximately $4,369,000. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 33.4% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 11,540 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,867,000 after buying an additional 2,888 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In other news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $791,505. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Argus upped their price objective on Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased 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 lifted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $203.00.

Badger Meter Stock Down 6.3 %

Shares of BMI opened at $205.94 on Friday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52-week low of $134.06 and a 52-week high of $230.76. The company has a market cap of $6.05 billion, a PE ratio of 59.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a fifty day moving average of $209.24 and a 200 day moving average of $194.47.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its quarterly 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. The firm 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.76 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. This is an increase from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.