Cullen Capital Management LLC Purchases New Position in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Cullen Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 4,436 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $658,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. D.B. Root & Company LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the second quarter worth approximately $629,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,142,000. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the second quarter valued at approximately $6,304,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new stake in Badger Meter during the second quarter worth $8,417,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Badger Meter during the second quarter worth $519,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Edward F. Callahan acquired 751 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $135.25 per share, for a total transaction of $101,572.75. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president owned 1,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $261,979.25. This represents a 63.32% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on BMI shares. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $112.00 price objective (up from $109.00) on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $170.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Badger Meter from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Seaport Research Partners set a $160.00 price target on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.00.

Badger Meter Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of Badger Meter stock opened at $136.83 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $137.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $138.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.65. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12 month low of $112.09 and a 12 month high of $204.00.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.01. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 18.03% and a net margin of 14.27%.The firm had revenue of $220.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $220.59 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.17 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 11th. Investors of record on Friday, August 28th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. This is an increase from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 28th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is presently 37.38%.

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.