Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Shares Purchased by Fmr LLC

FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 20.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,142 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after buying an additional 6,732 shares during the period. FMR LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Badger Meter worth $8,549,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BMI. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Badger Meter by 1,016.7% during the third 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 last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in Badger Meter by 40.9% during the second 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 last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Badger Meter by 61.3% during the third 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 last quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Badger Meter during the third quarter worth about $204,000. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Badger Meter during the second quarter worth about $207,000. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on BMI. 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 research report on Friday, October 18th. Maxim Group raised their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $203.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $216.00.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of Badger Meter stock traded down $7.04 on Thursday, reaching $230.63. The company had a trading volume of 236,382 shares, compared to its average volume of 181,221. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $216.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $204.40. The firm has a market cap of $6.78 billion, a PE ratio of 58.94, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.79. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.50 and a 52-week high of $239.11.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $208.44 million for 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%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.88 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.19 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.75%.

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.