Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Shares Bought by Congress Asset Management Co.

Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 2.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 295,027 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after buying an additional 7,967 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. owned approximately 1.00% of Badger Meter worth $64,437,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BMI. Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in Badger Meter by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in Badger Meter by 4.5% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,635 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $357,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Farrow Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 0.4% in the second quarter. Farrow Financial Inc. now owns 20,064 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $3,739,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 5.0% in the second quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 1,871 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, Argus Investors Counsel Inc. raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 4.8% in the second quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 2,401 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $447,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Badger Meter

In related news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were 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 owns 3,861 shares in the company, valued at $791,505. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BMI shares. Robert W. Baird upped 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Badger Meter from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $189.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Maxim Group upped their price target 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, Argus upped their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $214.75.

Badger Meter Stock Down 2.4 %

Badger Meter stock traded down $4.99 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $199.97. 292,382 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 179,613. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $136.31 and a twelve month high of $230.76. The company has a fifty day moving average of $210.14 and a 200-day moving average of $197.68. The company has a market cap of $5.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77.

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 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.03). Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 14.44%. The company had revenue of $208.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.08 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.88 earnings per share. Badger Meter's revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were issued a $0.34 dividend. This is an increase from Badger Meter's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Badger Meter's payout ratio is presently 33.75%.

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.