SG Americas Securities LLC Sells 3,261 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

SG Americas Securities LLC lowered its position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 47.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,550 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 3,261 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $775,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in Badger Meter by 2,633.3% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 492 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 46.3% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 499 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 40.9% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 575 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in Badger Meter during the 2nd quarter valued at $207,000. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN bought a new stake in Badger Meter during the 2nd quarter valued at $220,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE BMI opened at $226.20 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $206.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $193.12. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52-week low of $134.06 and a 52-week high of $230.76. The company has a market cap of $6.65 billion, a PE ratio of 65.19, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.09. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.44% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The firm had revenue of $216.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $203.39 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.76 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is a positive change from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on BMI. StockNews.com lowered shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Argus upped their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $175.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $200.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $791,505. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Badger Meter Company Profile

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.