Values First Advisors Inc. Sells 122 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Values First Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 1.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,021 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 122 shares during the period. Badger Meter accounts for approximately 1.1% of Values First Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Values First Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $1,970,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Badger Meter by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,674,493 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $594,570,000 after purchasing an additional 22,707 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 7.0% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 337,391 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $62,873,000 after acquiring an additional 22,160 shares in the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 66.4% in the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 128,651 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $23,974,000 after purchasing an additional 51,318 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Badger Meter by 47.1% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 126,100 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $23,499,000 after purchasing an additional 40,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 86.2% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 100,788 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $18,782,000 after purchasing an additional 46,650 shares during the period. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Maxim Group increased their price target on Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. 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 report on Friday, October 18th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Badger Meter from $189.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Argus upped their price target on Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $214.75.

Badger Meter Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Badger Meter stock opened at $201.19 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $210.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $196.04. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.27 and a 12 month high of $230.76.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its earnings results 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). Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 14.44%. The firm had revenue of $208.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $212.08 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. Badger Meter’s revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were paid a $0.34 dividend. This is an increase from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is presently 39.19%.

Insider Transactions at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $224,885.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,861 shares in the company, valued at $791,505. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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.