National Bank of Canada FI Reduces Stock Position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

National Bank of Canada FI cut its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 5.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,641 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 164 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $577,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BMI. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in Badger Meter by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,635 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the second quarter worth $577,000. Geneva Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Badger Meter during the third quarter valued at $1,120,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Badger Meter by 72.3% in the second quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 19,783 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $3,687,000 after acquiring an additional 8,298 shares during the period. Finally, Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors purchased a new position in Badger Meter in the second quarter worth about $230,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BMI has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $203.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price 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. Finally, Maxim Group lifted their price target on shares of 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $216.00.

Badger Meter Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:BMI opened at $226.31 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $217.22 and a 200 day moving average of $204.91. The company has a market cap of $6.66 billion, a PE ratio of 56.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.79. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.50 and a 12-month high of $239.11.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 firm 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.88 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is presently 33.75%.

Badger Meter 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.