Farther Finance Advisors LLC Purchases 1,096 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 85.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,384 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,096 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $441,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BMI. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 9.8% in the first quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 615 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in Badger Meter by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $257,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Farrow Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Farrow Financial Inc. now owns 20,064 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $3,739,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in Badger Meter by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 1,796 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Argus Investors Counsel Inc. raised 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 worth $447,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity 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 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 in the company, valued at $791,505. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of BMI stock opened at $197.58 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $196.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $182.46. The stock has a market cap of $5.81 billion, a PE ratio of 56.94, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.78. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52-week low of $134.06 and a 52-week high of $210.29.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $216.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $203.39 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 14.44%. The firm’s revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.76 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is a positive change from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 23rd. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is presently 39.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on BMI. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $175.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Badger Meter from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Argus raised 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $184.20.

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.