Quest Partners LLC Purchases 3,155 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 59.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,495 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,155 shares during the quarter. Quest Partners LLC's holdings in Badger Meter were worth $1,855,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in 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 valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 2,633.3% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 492 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 46.3% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 499 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 40.9% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 575 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Annex Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter in the 3rd quarter worth about $204,000. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BMI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price target 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 increased 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. 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 report on Wednesday, October 16th. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Badger Meter from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $214.75.

Badger Meter Stock Down 0.9 %

BMI traded down $1.90 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $211.07. 109,761 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 179,011. Badger Meter, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.50 and a fifty-two week high of $230.76. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $214.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $201.40. The company has a market capitalization of $6.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.37, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.78.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.03). Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.56% and a net margin of 14.80%. The business 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 firm earned $0.88 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.19 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.75%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the 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 owns 3,861 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $791,505. This represents a 22.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.