Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Shares Purchased by Creative Planning

Creative Planning raised its position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 23.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,575 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,536 shares during the period. Creative Planning's holdings in Badger Meter were worth $2,965,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BMI. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,674,493 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $594,570,000 after purchasing an additional 22,707 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 15.1% in the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,636 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $4,218,000 after buying an additional 2,964 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the first quarter worth $4,369,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 33.4% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 11,540 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,867,000 after buying an additional 2,888 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 1st quarter valued at $1,726,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on BMI. StockNews.com cut Badger Meter from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Maxim Group upped their target price on Badger Meter from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target 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. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $189.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $214.75.

Badger Meter Trading Up 0.4 %

Badger Meter stock traded up $0.84 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $202.03. The company had a trading volume of 144,996 shares, compared to its average volume of 179,351. The company has a market capitalization of $5.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.37 and a 12-month high of $230.76. The company's fifty day moving average is $210.07 and its 200-day moving average is $196.91.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last announced 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). Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 14.44%. The firm had revenue of $208.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $212.08 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd were issued a $0.34 dividend. This is a boost from Badger Meter's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $224,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,861 shares in the company, valued at $791,505. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.