Citigroup Inc. Grows Stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 67.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 37,976 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 15,240 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $8,294,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in Badger Meter in the 2nd quarter worth about $10,622,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 66.4% in the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 128,651 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $23,974,000 after purchasing an additional 51,318 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Badger Meter by 86.2% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 100,788 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $18,782,000 after purchasing an additional 46,650 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in Badger Meter by 47.1% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 126,100 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $23,499,000 after purchasing an additional 40,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its stake in Badger Meter by 80.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 78,914 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $14,706,000 after buying an additional 35,150 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

BMI stock opened at $216.82 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $215.58 and its 200 day moving average is $202.76. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52 week low of $139.50 and a 52 week high of $230.76.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released 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 company had revenue of $208.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $212.08 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.56% and a net margin of 14.80%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.19 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Badger Meter from $189.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Maxim Group upped their price objective on Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $214.75.

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.