Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 15,581 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 24.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,825 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 15,581 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $9,099,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BMI. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth approximately $227,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth approximately $826,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,615,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 68.1% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 33,395 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $7,083,000 after acquiring an additional 13,526 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 363,164 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $77,034,000 after acquiring an additional 68,137 shares in the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

NYSE:BMI opened at $242.41 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $226.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $216.04. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52-week low of $162.17 and a 52-week high of $256.08. The company has a market cap of $7.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.85.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $222.21 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $220.39 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 15.12%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.99 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on BMI shares. Raymond James started coverage on Badger Meter in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Badger Meter from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Badger Meter from $218.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Argus set a $240.00 price objective on Badger Meter in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Badger Meter from $209.00 to $196.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $229.80.

About Badger Meter

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.