Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI Shares Sold by Janus Henderson Group PLC

Janus Henderson Group PLC lessened its position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 80.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,849 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 52,658 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $1,959,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS acquired a new stake in Badger Meter in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,447,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,126,000. Capital Innovations LLC acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,867,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 166,407 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $29,023,000 after purchasing an additional 20,624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 113.9% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 95,662 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $16,684,000 after purchasing an additional 50,949 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on BMI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $172.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Badger Meter from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Badger Meter from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $170.00 target price on Badger Meter and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Badger Meter from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.00.

Badger Meter Price Performance

BMI stock opened at $138.81 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.65. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52-week low of $112.09 and a 52-week high of $204.00. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $136.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $141.12.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.01. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 18.03%. The firm had revenue of $220.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $220.59 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.17 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, VP Edward F. Callahan bought 751 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $135.25 per share, with a total value of $101,572.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $261,979.25. This represents a 63.32% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Badger Meter Company 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.