HighTower Advisors LLC Buys 56 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 1.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,312 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 56 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $1,165,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 4.5% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,635 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the second quarter worth $577,000. Geneva Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the third quarter worth $1,120,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 72.3% in the second quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 19,783 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $3,687,000 after purchasing an additional 8,298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Badger Meter in the second quarter worth $230,000. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

BMI stock opened at $230.37 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $217.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $204.91. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52 week low of $139.50 and a 52 week high of $239.11. The company has a market capitalization of $6.78 billion, a PE ratio of 57.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.79.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $208.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $212.08 million. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.56% and a net margin of 14.80%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.19 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BMI. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $203.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Maxim Group boosted their price objective 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, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $184.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $216.00.

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.