Umpqua Bank Reduces Holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Umpqua Bank lowered its position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,407 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 1,100 shares during the quarter. Umpqua Bank’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $635,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 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 valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 46.3% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 499 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 40.9% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 575 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $224,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $791,505. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BMI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Badger Meter from $175.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Argus raised their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $184.20.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of BMI opened at $190.61 on Friday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1-year low of $134.06 and a 1-year high of $210.29. The company has a market capitalization of $5.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $196.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $183.03.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 last year, the company posted $0.76 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were issued a $0.34 dividend. This is a boost from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.19%.

Badger Meter 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.