Private Advisor Group LLC Raises Stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,635 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $357,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BMI. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,179 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $514,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the 1st quarter worth approximately $484,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 11.4% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 36,576 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $5,918,000 after buying an additional 3,740 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 2,514 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $407,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the 1st quarter worth approximately $519,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BMI shares. Robert W. Baird lifted 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. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Maxim Group boosted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $189.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $214.75.

Badger Meter Stock Up 1.9 %

NYSE:BMI opened at $206.61 on Wednesday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.50 and a fifty-two week high of $230.76. The stock has a market cap of $6.08 billion, a PE ratio of 51.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $210.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $199.04.

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). Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.56% and a net margin of 14.80%. The business had revenue of $208.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $212.08 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.88 earnings per share. Badger Meter’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd were given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. This is a positive change from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is currently 33.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,861 shares in the company, valued at $791,505. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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.