Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Shares Sold by State Street Corp

State Street Corp reduced its position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 3.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,465,264 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 51,675 shares during the period. State Street Corp owned 4.98% of Badger Meter worth $320,028,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMI. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Badger Meter by 6.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 338,198 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $73,866,000 after purchasing an additional 19,848 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 7.0% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 337,391 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $62,873,000 after buying an additional 22,160 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 0.8% in the third 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. lifted its stake in 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 period. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 66.4% during the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 128,651 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $23,974,000 after acquiring an additional 51,318 shares in the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

BMI stock traded up $2.97 on Wednesday, hitting $237.67. 319,716 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 181,530. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $216.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $204.16. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.50 and a 12-month high of $238.73. The stock has a market cap of $6.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.79.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.03). Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.80% and a return on equity of 21.56%. The firm had revenue of $208.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $212.08 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BMI has been the topic of several research reports. Maxim Group lifted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Badger Meter from $203.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $216.00.

Badger Meter 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.