Magnetar Financial LLC Takes $207,000 Position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,109 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 22,707 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 33.7% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 397,614 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $61,380,000 after buying an additional 100,304 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Badger Meter by 7.0% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 337,391 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $62,873,000 after acquiring an additional 22,160 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Badger Meter by 29.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 324,720 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $50,127,000 after acquiring an additional 74,578 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at $47,359,000. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of BMI opened at $214.92 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $201.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $187.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.94, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.77. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52 week low of $134.06 and a 52 week high of $220.25.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.09. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.44% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The company had revenue of $216.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $203.39 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.76 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.09 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The firm 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 of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. This is a boost from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $791,505. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. 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. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Badger Meter from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Badger Meter from $175.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.