nVerses Capital LLC Increases Stock Position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

nVerses Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 1,500.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,600 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $349,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BMI. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,017 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $5,869,000 after buying an additional 1,304 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,651,786 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $563,726,000 after acquiring an additional 37,517 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 22,516 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $3,476,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,069,000. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the first quarter valued at approximately $265,000. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of BMI stock opened at $205.94 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.35, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $209.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $194.47. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1 year low of $134.06 and a 1 year high of $230.76.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $216.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $203.39 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 14.44%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.76 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. This is an increase from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on BMI shares. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Argus lifted their price objective on Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Badger Meter from $189.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $203.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were 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 directly owns 3,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $791,505. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.