Franklin Resources Inc. Has $11.80 Million Holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 148.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 48,190 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,779 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.16% of Badger Meter worth $11,804,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BMI. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Badger Meter by 2.3% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 876,519 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $215,464,000 after buying an additional 19,340 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew 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 worth $120,027,000 after acquiring an additional 129,945 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 78.1% in the 2nd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 612,809 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $150,108,000 after acquiring an additional 268,799 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 2.1% in 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 period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 2.8% in 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 period. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Badger Meter Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE BMI opened at $178.60 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $179.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $203.60. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12-month low of $162.17 and a 12-month high of $256.08. The company has a market cap of $5.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.00, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.94.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $235.65 million for 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%. The business’s revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

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 Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BMI. Weiss Ratings downgraded Badger Meter from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $229.00 price objective on shares of Badger Meter and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $208.00 to $215.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.