Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Stock Position Raised by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 11.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 36,576 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 3,740 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Badger Meter were worth $5,918,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at about $47,359,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its stake in Badger Meter by 851.3% during the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 141,591 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $21,585,000 after purchasing an additional 126,707 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 33.7% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 397,614 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $61,380,000 after purchasing an additional 100,304 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 29.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 324,720 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $50,127,000 after buying an additional 74,578 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at $10,360,000. 89.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Badger Meter Trading Up 2.3 %

NYSE:BMI opened at $192.81 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.67 billion, a PE ratio of 55.56, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.78. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1 year low of $134.06 and a 1 year high of $202.81. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $190.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.15.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.17. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 20.26% and a net margin of 13.81%. The company had revenue of $196.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $182.25 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.66 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 3.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is presently 31.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BMI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Maxim Group boosted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Northcoast Research upgraded Badger Meter from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Badger Meter from $151.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $147.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $170.50.

Badger Meter 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.