Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Buys 250 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 8.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,342 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $730,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMI. Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 14.5% during the third quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,576 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. JB Capital LLC bought a new stake in Badger Meter in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $218,000. Geneva Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Badger Meter in the third quarter worth approximately $1,120,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Badger Meter during the third quarter valued at approximately $230,000. Finally, First Interstate Bank raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 38.8% during the third quarter. First Interstate Bank now owns 2,423 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $529,000 after acquiring an additional 677 shares in the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Badger Meter Trading Down 2.0 %

Badger Meter stock opened at $215.32 on Friday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.50 and a 1-year high of $230.76. The firm has a market cap of $6.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $213.72 and a 200-day moving average of $200.96.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $208.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $212.08 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.56% and a net margin of 14.80%. Badger Meter’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BMI. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $189.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Argus increased their target price on Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Maxim Group lifted 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $214.75.

Insider Transactions at Badger Meter

In other news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $224,885.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $791,505. This represents a 22.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.