Creative Planning Purchases 2,536 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Creative Planning raised its position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 23.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,575 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,536 shares during the quarter. Creative Planning’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $2,965,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 80.6% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 11,107 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,426,000 after purchasing an additional 4,958 shares during the period. Annex Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the third quarter valued at about $204,000. Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 176.6% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 6,132 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,339,000 after purchasing an additional 3,915 shares during the period. Pacific Sun Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the third quarter valued at about $223,000. Finally, ORBA Wealth Advisors L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the third quarter valued at about $207,000. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BMI shares. Maxim Group upped their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Argus upped their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $214.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In other Badger Meter news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $224,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $791,505. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Price Performance

BMI opened at $202.03 on Friday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.37 and a fifty-two week high of $230.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.94 billion, a PE ratio of 58.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50-day moving average is $210.07 and its 200 day moving average is $196.61.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $208.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $212.08 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.44% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were paid a $0.34 dividend. This is a positive change from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.19%.

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.