Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Shares Purchased by Ballentine Partners LLC

Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 30.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,677 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 388 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $356,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BMI. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Badger Meter by 1,016.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 201 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 61.3% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 805 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $176,000 after buying an additional 306 shares during the period. Annex Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Badger Meter during the third quarter valued at about $204,000. Finally, ORBA Wealth Advisors L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the third quarter worth about $207,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Stock Down 4.0 %

BMI stock opened at $210.22 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $218.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $210.49. The company has a market cap of $6.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.16, a PEG ratio of 2.42 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. 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 0.65%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 33.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BMI shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $203.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Maxim Group raised their target price on Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $216.00.

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.