Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Shares Sold by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 56,144 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 434 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.19% of Badger Meter worth $12,262,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royce & Associates LP purchased a new stake in Badger Meter during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $589,000. Curi RMB Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 4.2% during the third quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 43,764 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $9,558,000 after buying an additional 1,766 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 17.6% during the third quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 8,729 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,907,000 after purchasing an additional 1,306 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Badger Meter by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 331,769 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $72,462,000 after acquiring an additional 2,515 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arjuna Capital increased its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 42.6% during the 3rd quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 3,794 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $829,000 after purchasing an additional 1,134 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on BMI. StockNews.com cut shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $189.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Maxim Group boosted their price target on Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 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, Badger Meter presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $214.75.

Badger Meter Price Performance

NYSE BMI opened at $216.85 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $214.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $201.55. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.50 and a 52-week high of $230.76.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $208.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.08 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.80% and a return on equity of 21.56%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.88 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.19 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is 33.75%.

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.