Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Shares Purchased by Bridges Investment Management Inc.

Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 75.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,427 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 2,329 shares during the quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $1,151,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 363,164 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $77,034,000 after acquiring an additional 68,137 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd acquired a new stake in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth about $10,462,000. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Badger Meter by 348.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,090 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $12,034,000 after purchasing an additional 42,806 shares during the period. Robeco Schweiz AG acquired a new position in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter valued at about $7,494,000. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in Badger Meter in the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,285,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Maxim Group lifted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Badger Meter from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $218.75.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of BMI stock opened at $209.97 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $6.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $213.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $213.62. Badger Meter, Inc. has a one year low of $150.87 and a one year high of $239.11.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 15.12%. As a group, research analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.15%.

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.