Burney Co. Invests $385,000 in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Burney Co. purchased a new stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,815 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $385,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Badger Meter by 72.9% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 19,621 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $3,656,000 after purchasing an additional 8,271 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Badger Meter by 47.1% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 126,100 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $23,499,000 after buying an additional 40,400 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Badger Meter in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,032,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in Badger Meter during the second quarter worth about $2,833,000. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the second quarter valued at about $577,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Badger Meter Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE BMI traded up $1.10 during trading on Friday, hitting $215.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 132,073 shares, compared to its average volume of 158,110. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52 week low of $139.50 and a 52 week high of $239.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $218.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $209.66. The firm has a market cap of $6.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.79.

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 business had revenue of $208.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.08 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.80% and a return on equity of 21.56%. Badger Meter's revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Badger Meter's payout ratio is presently 33.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective 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. Maxim Group upped their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $203.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.