Capital Fund Management S.A. Reduces Stock Position in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Capital Fund Management S.A. trimmed its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 42.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,561 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 10,620 shares during the period. Capital Fund Management S.A.’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $3,567,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 8,649 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,119,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Norway Savings Bank lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 2.1% during the second quarter. Norway Savings Bank now owns 2,775 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $680,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC grew its stake in Badger Meter by 4.6% in the second quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 1,296 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Badger Meter by 6.1% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,039 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Monument Capital Management increased its holdings in Badger Meter by 0.4% in the second quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 15,588 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $3,818,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $205.00 target price on Badger Meter and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Zacks Research raised shares of Badger Meter from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $208.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Badger Meter from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $227.33.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BMI opened at $174.47 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $179.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $202.34. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1 year low of $162.17 and a 1 year high of $256.08. The company has a market capitalization of $5.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.93.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. 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 return on equity of 21.12% and a net margin of 15.40%.The firm had revenue of $235.65 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $231.88 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 5th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 21st. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.04%.

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.