Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Cuts Stake in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ cut its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 4.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,921 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 1,134 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ owned approximately 0.08% of Badger Meter worth $6,104,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its position in Badger Meter by 170.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 165 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Employees Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in Badger Meter during the second quarter valued at approximately $54,000. MAI Capital Management increased its holdings in Badger Meter by 57.6% during the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 260 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Penserra Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Badger Meter in the second quarter worth approximately $66,000. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BMI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings cut Badger Meter from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $229.00 price objective on Badger Meter and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Badger Meter in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $205.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $208.00 to $215.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $227.33.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of BMI stock opened at $178.60 on Monday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $162.17 and a fifty-two week high of $256.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.00, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $179.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $203.34.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $235.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $231.88 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.40% and a return on equity of 21.12%. Badger Meter’s revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 21st will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.04%.

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.