VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Buys New Stake in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,400 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $343,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Badger Meter by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Badger Meter by 83.0% in the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 194 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in Badger Meter in the 1st quarter worth $37,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Badger Meter in the 1st quarter worth $41,000. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Badger Meter in the 1st quarter worth $67,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:BMI opened at $187.55 on Friday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $162.17 and a fifty-two week high of $256.08. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $180.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $208.93. The company has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a PE ratio of 39.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.90.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 21st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.08. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.40% and a return on equity of 21.12%. The business had revenue of $235.65 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $231.88 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is a boost from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is currently 34.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $208.00 to $215.00 in a report on Wednesday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $229.00 price objective on shares of Badger Meter and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 target price for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $227.33.

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.