Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Has $658,000 Stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lowered its holdings in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 6.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,533 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 252 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $658,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BMI. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 615 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 4.2% during the second quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Farrow Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Farrow Financial Inc. now owns 20,064 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $3,739,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 2,401 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $447,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arjuna Capital lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 2,636 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:BMI opened at $214.92 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $6.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.77. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12 month low of $134.06 and a 12 month high of $220.25. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $201.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $187.63.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.09. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.44% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The business had revenue of $216.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $203.39 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.76 earnings per share. Badger Meter’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. This is a positive change from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is 39.19%.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $224,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $791,505. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Badger Meter from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Argus boosted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $175.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $184.20.

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.