JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Stock Holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lessened its position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 416,109 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 72,210 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $90,882,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Badger Meter in the 2nd quarter valued at $10,622,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 66.4% in the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 128,651 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $23,974,000 after buying an additional 51,318 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Badger Meter by 86.2% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 100,788 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $18,782,000 after acquiring an additional 46,650 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 348.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,090 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $12,034,000 after acquiring an additional 42,806 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 47.1% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 126,100 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $23,499,000 after purchasing an additional 40,400 shares in the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Badger Meter Stock Down 0.2 %

BMI stock opened at $211.68 on Friday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.50 and a 52-week high of $239.11. The business has a fifty day moving average of $217.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $207.59. The stock has a market cap of $6.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.79.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.03). Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.80% and a return on equity of 21.56%. The company had revenue of $208.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.08 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.19 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Badger Meter from $203.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Maxim Group raised their target price on Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $216.00.

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.