Royce & Associates LP Acquires New Shares in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Royce & Associates LP acquired a new stake in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,699 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $589,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in Badger Meter by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,635 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $357,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Farrow Financial Inc. grew its holdings 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 valued at $3,739,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Argus Investors Counsel Inc. lifted its position in Badger Meter by 4.8% during the second quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 2,401 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $447,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $189.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Maxim Group raised their target price 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased 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. 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $214.75.

Badger Meter Price Performance

BMI stock opened at $216.85 on Thursday. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.50 and a 1-year high of $230.76. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $214.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $201.55. The company has a market capitalization of $6.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.81, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.78.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its 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 company had revenue of $208.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $212.08 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.75%.

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.