Van ECK Associates Corp Increases Holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 68.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 33,395 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after buying an additional 13,526 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.11% of Badger Meter worth $7,083,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 72.5% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 992 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $217,000 after buying an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 23.0% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 13,575 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $2,965,000 after acquiring an additional 2,536 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 1,016.7% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 201 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,635 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $357,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TFG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the third quarter valued at about $289,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Badger Meter Trading Down 3.7 %

Shares of BMI stock traded down $8.03 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $210.14. 265,787 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 204,517. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.87 and a 52-week high of $239.11. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $215.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $212.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.78.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on BMI shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Maxim Group upped their target price on Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Badger Meter presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $218.75.

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.