Associated Banc Corp Purchases Shares of 1,000 Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Associated Banc Corp acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,000 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $245,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in Badger Meter by 433.1% during the 2nd quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 8,573 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,100,000 after acquiring an additional 6,965 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 0.5% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 34,231 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $8,385,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 2.1% during the second quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,011 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,207,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 11.0% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 19,320 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $4,732,000 after purchasing an additional 1,909 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 30.9% in the 2nd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 13,904 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $3,406,000 after purchasing an additional 3,284 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

BMI stock opened at $177.27 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.22 billion, a PE ratio of 37.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a fifty day moving average of $179.52 and a 200-day moving average of $204.49. Badger Meter, Inc. has a one year low of $162.17 and a one year high of $256.08.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $235.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $231.88 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.40% and a return on equity of 21.12%. The business’s revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 21st will be 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 21st. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is 34.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BMI has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Badger Meter in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research raised 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 target price on shares of Badger Meter and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $208.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Badger Meter and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.