Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Has $8.66 Million Holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB trimmed its holdings in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 27.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,662 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 15,142 shares during the quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB owned approximately 0.13% of Badger Meter worth $8,663,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 40.9% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 575 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 61.3% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 805 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $176,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the period. Annex Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the 3rd quarter worth $204,000. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the 2nd quarter worth $207,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on BMI shares. Maxim Group raised their target price on Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Badger Meter from $203.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Four 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, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $216.00.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

BMI stock traded down $5.08 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $225.55. 84,252 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 181,427. Badger Meter, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.50 and a fifty-two week high of $239.11. The stock has a market cap of $6.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.13, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.79. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $217.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $204.57.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last issued its 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). The company had revenue of $208.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $212.08 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.56% and a net margin of 14.80%. Badger Meter's quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.19 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.75%.

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.