3,893 Shares in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Purchased by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 3,893 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $826,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in BMI. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Badger Meter by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 338,198 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $73,866,000 after buying an additional 19,848 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 331,769 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $72,462,000 after acquiring an additional 2,515 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 2.8% in the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 295,027 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $64,437,000 after acquiring an additional 7,967 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 26.6% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 83,270 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $18,187,000 after acquiring an additional 17,483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC boosted its position in Badger Meter by 39.3% during the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 77,333 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $16,890,000 after purchasing an additional 21,799 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on BMI shares. Maxim Group upped their target price on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $218.75.

Badger Meter Price Performance

NYSE BMI opened at $217.01 on Tuesday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $150.87 and a fifty-two week high of $239.11. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $216.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $212.46. The firm has a market cap of $6.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 0.78.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 15.12%. On average, equities analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.15%.

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.