Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Sells 17,185 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lessened its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 5.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 327,601 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 17,185 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 1.11% of Badger Meter worth $80,246,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BMI. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 11.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,909 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its position 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 worth $3,406,000 after purchasing an additional 3,284 shares during the period. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. now owns 227,390 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $55,699,000 after purchasing an additional 3,340 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 135,070 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $33,085,000 after purchasing an additional 3,219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dundas Partners LLP increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 431.4% during the second quarter. Dundas Partners LLP now owns 8,444 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,068,000 after buying an additional 6,855 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of Badger Meter stock opened at $178.60 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $179.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $203.60. Badger Meter, Inc. has a one year low of $162.17 and a one year high of $256.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.00, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.94.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced 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 the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 21.12% and a net margin of 15.40%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 5th. Investors of record on Friday, November 21st will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

About Badger Meter

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.