Cerity Partners LLC Sells 6,452 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Cerity Partners LLC cut its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 11.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,377 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 6,452 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $11,221,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Badger Meter by 1,016.7% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 201 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 2,633.3% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 492 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Badger Meter by 46.3% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 499 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 40.9% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 575 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Annex Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Badger Meter during the third quarter valued at approximately $204,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of BMI stock opened at $215.99 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $215.51 and a 200 day moving average of $202.28. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.50 and a 1 year high of $230.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.78.

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 21.56% and a net margin of 14.80%. The firm had revenue of $208.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.08 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on BMI. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $189.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com lowered Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Maxim Group boosted their price target on Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $214.75.

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.