Private Advisor Group LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,635 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $357,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Badger Meter by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,674,493 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $594,570,000 after buying an additional 22,707 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Badger Meter by 15.1% during the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,636 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $4,218,000 after acquiring an additional 2,964 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in Badger Meter during the first quarter valued at approximately $4,369,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its position in Badger Meter by 33.4% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 11,540 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,867,000 after acquiring an additional 2,888 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Badger Meter during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,726,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Badger Meter

In related news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of Badger Meter stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $224,885.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $791,505. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE:BMI opened at $206.61 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $210.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $199.04. The company has a market cap of $6.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.78. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.50 and a twelve month 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 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $208.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.08 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. Badger Meter’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. This is a boost from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BMI. Maxim Group upped their price target 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. Argus increased their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $189.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $214.75.

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.