Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Buys Shares of 3,818 Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 3,818 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $682,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 170.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 165 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in Badger Meter during the second quarter worth $49,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the third quarter worth $38,000. Employees Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the second quarter worth $54,000. Finally, MAI Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 57.6% in the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 260 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BMI has been the topic of several research reports. Zacks Research raised Badger Meter from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Robert W. Baird set a $205.00 price target on shares of Badger Meter and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $208.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Friday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $220.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Badger Meter from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.25.

Badger Meter Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of BMI stock opened at $171.92 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $177.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $186.10. The company has a market cap of $5.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.58, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.91. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12 month low of $162.17 and a 12 month high of $256.08.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $235.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $231.88 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.12% and a net margin of 15.40%.Badger Meter’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

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

Badger Meter Profile

Badger Meter, founded in 1905 and headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a global leader in flow measurement and control solutions. The company’s core business centers on the design, manufacture and sale of water meters, control valves and related accessories for municipal and industrial water utilities. Over its more than a century of operation, Badger Meter has built a reputation for precision engineering, durability and compliance with international regulatory standards.

The company’s product portfolio includes mechanical and ultrasonic water meters, electromagnetic flow meters for industrial applications, and a range of control valves that help utilities manage pressure and flow in distribution networks.