1,636 Shares in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Purchased by First Hawaiian Bank

First Hawaiian Bank acquired a new position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,636 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $265,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMI. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,359,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 851.3% during the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 141,591 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $21,585,000 after acquiring an additional 126,707 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 33.7% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 397,614 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $61,380,000 after acquiring an additional 100,304 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Badger Meter by 29.8% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 324,720 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $50,127,000 after acquiring an additional 74,578 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at about $10,360,000. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Badger Meter stock opened at $188.41 on Friday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $134.06 and a fifty-two week high of $202.81. The stock has a market cap of $5.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.30, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.81. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $187.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $165.87.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $196.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $182.25 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 20.26% and a net margin of 13.81%. The firm’s revenue was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.66 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is 31.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BMI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $151.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Badger Meter from $147.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com cut Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Northcoast Research upgraded Badger Meter from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Maxim Group raised their target price on Badger Meter from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.80.

Badger Meter Company 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.