Man Group plc Invests $899,000 in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Man Group plc acquired a new stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 6,059 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $899,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. XXEC Inc. purchased a new stake in Badger Meter during the 2nd quarter worth about $825,029,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the second quarter worth about $725,926,000. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Badger Meter by 1.4% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,462,807 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $358,315,000 after buying an additional 20,122 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 20.9% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 970,219 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $173,262,000 after buying an additional 168,053 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 876,854 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $152,951,000 after buying an additional 4,035 shares during the period. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of BMI stock opened at $136.34 on Friday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1 year low of $112.09 and a 1 year high of $204.00. The firm has a market cap of $3.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.86, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.65. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $137.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.03.

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

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 28th will be paid a $0.44 dividend. This is a boost from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 28th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Badger Meter news, VP Edward Callahan acquired 751 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $135.25 per share, with a total value of $101,572.75. Following the acquisition, the vice president owned 1,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $261,979.25. This trade represents a 63.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BMI. Seaport Research Partners set a $160.00 price target on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Badger Meter from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. 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. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $112.00 target price (up from $109.00) on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $167.00 target price on Badger Meter and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.00.

Badger Meter 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.