Cwm LLC Sells 209 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Cwm LLC reduced its position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 19.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 869 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 209 shares during the period. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $213,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Badger Meter by 25.9% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 630,891 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $120,027,000 after purchasing an additional 129,945 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its holdings in Badger Meter by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 407,059 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $99,709,000 after purchasing an additional 8,471 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in Badger Meter during the 1st quarter valued at about $65,448,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Badger Meter by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 305,039 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $58,034,000 after purchasing an additional 8,345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Badger Meter by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 291,637 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $55,484,000 after purchasing an additional 4,807 shares during the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Badger Meter Price Performance

BMI opened at $185.44 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $5.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $180.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $209.11. Badger Meter, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $162.17 and a fifty-two week high of $256.08.

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

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

BMI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $229.00 price target on shares of Badger Meter and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Badger Meter from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $205.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 target price for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $227.33.

Badger Meter 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.