Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) released its earnings results on Thursday. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.03), Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $208.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $212.08 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 14.44%. Badger Meter’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.88 EPS.

Badger Meter Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE:BMI traded up $1.71 on Friday, reaching $207.66. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 454,914 shares, compared to its average volume of 178,872. Badger Meter has a 12-month low of $134.06 and a 12-month high of $230.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $209.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $194.81. The firm has a market cap of $6.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77.

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 given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. This is a positive change from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.19%.

Insider Transactions at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 0.6% in the 1st 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 buying an additional 22,707 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Badger Meter by 33.7% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 397,614 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $61,380,000 after purchasing an additional 100,304 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 7.0% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 337,391 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $62,873,000 after purchasing an additional 22,160 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 14.3% in the first quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 278,606 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $45,081,000 after purchasing an additional 34,817 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 1.3% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 160,359 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $25,948,000 after purchasing an additional 2,095 shares during the period. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BMI. Maxim Group upped their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Argus upped their price target on Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com cut Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Badger Meter from $189.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $214.75.

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.