Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Position Lessened by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 416,109 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 72,210 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 1.41% of Badger Meter worth $90,882,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in Badger Meter by 2,204.1% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,341 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $623,000 after purchasing an additional 3,196 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 36.1% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 34,520 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $6,433,000 after acquiring an additional 9,148 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Badger Meter by 13.0% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 20,434 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 2,353 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in Badger Meter by 1.9% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 8,217 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,531,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Badger Meter by 17.0% in the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 29,089 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $5,421,000 after acquiring an additional 4,217 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on BMI. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Badger Meter from $203.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Maxim Group boosted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $216.00.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of BMI stock traded up $1.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $213.38. 150,717 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 186,159. Badger Meter, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.50 and a fifty-two week high of $239.11. The company has a market capitalization of $6.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.79. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $218.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $207.76.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.03). Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.80% and a return on equity of 21.56%. The business had revenue of $208.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.08 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.19 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Badger Meter's payout ratio is 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.