Monument Capital Management Decreases Stock Holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Monument Capital Management lowered its holdings in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 92.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,135 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 14,453 shares during the quarter. Monument Capital Management’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $203,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 53.7% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 398 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC grew its position in Badger Meter by 31.1% in the third quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 14,902 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,661,000 after acquiring an additional 3,532 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management increased its stake in Badger Meter by 15.0% during the third quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 109,314 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $19,521,000 after acquiring an additional 14,281 shares during the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. purchased a new stake in Badger Meter during the third quarter valued at approximately $638,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in Badger Meter during the second quarter valued at approximately $478,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BMI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Badger Meter from $240.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of Badger Meter from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Robert W. Baird set a $205.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $229.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Friday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $220.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $227.00.

Badger Meter Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE:BMI opened at $180.96 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $5.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.93. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $162.17 and a twelve month high of $256.08. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $180.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $195.30.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.08. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.40% and a return on equity of 21.12%. The firm had revenue of $235.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $231.88 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 21st were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 21st. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is currently 34.04%.

Badger Meter Company Profile

Badger Meter, founded in 1905 and headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a global leader in flow measurement and control solutions. The company’s core business centers on the design, manufacture and sale of water meters, control valves and related accessories for municipal and industrial water utilities. Over its more than a century of operation, Badger Meter has built a reputation for precision engineering, durability and compliance with international regulatory standards.

The company’s product portfolio includes mechanical and ultrasonic water meters, electromagnetic flow meters for industrial applications, and a range of control valves that help utilities manage pressure and flow in distribution networks.