Quadrature Capital Ltd Sells 6,500 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Quadrature Capital Ltd cut its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 67.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,116 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 6,500 shares during the quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $680,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Badger Meter by 15.1% during the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,636 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $4,218,000 after acquiring an additional 2,964 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,635 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,704,000. Bridges Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the 2nd quarter worth about $577,000. Finally, Geneva Partners LLC bought a new position in Badger Meter during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,120,000. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $189.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Maxim Group raised their price target on Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $214.75.

Badger Meter Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of BMI stock opened at $224.38 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.68, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $216.06 and its 200-day moving average is $203.72. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.50 and a 1 year high of $230.76.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $208.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $212.08 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.80% and a return on equity of 21.56%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.75%.

Badger Meter Company 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.