Hsbc Holdings PLC Grows Stake in Badger Meter, Inc. $BMI

Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 406.3% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 21,813 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,505 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $4,132,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Badger Meter by 25.9% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 630,891 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $120,027,000 after purchasing an additional 129,945 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its position in shares of Badger Meter by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 398,588 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $75,831,000 after purchasing an additional 35,424 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Badger Meter by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 348,476 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $73,919,000 after purchasing an additional 27,797 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the 1st quarter valued at $65,448,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Badger Meter by 184.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 256,217 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $54,350,000 after acquiring an additional 166,191 shares in the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Badger Meter Stock Up 0.3%

Badger Meter stock opened at $185.61 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.47 billion, a PE ratio of 40.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $214.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $215.48. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $162.17 and a twelve month high of $256.08.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.19 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $238.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $235.38 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 15.53%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This is a boost from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is presently 34.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BMI. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $284.00 to $264.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $216.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $224.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $238.40.

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.