Alps Advisors Inc. Purchases 3,090 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Alps Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 7.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,870 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after buying an additional 3,090 shares during the quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. owned 0.15% of Badger Meter worth $8,156,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Badger Meter by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,841,879 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $814,939,000 after buying an additional 44,839 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Badger Meter by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 796,528 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $169,448,000 after purchasing an additional 17,873 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Badger Meter by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 500,946 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $106,261,000 after purchasing an additional 7,719 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Badger Meter in the 4th quarter worth approximately $94,547,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Badger Meter by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 433,169 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $91,884,000 after buying an additional 17,060 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Badger Meter from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Argus set a $240.00 price objective on Badger Meter in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Badger Meter from $218.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $236.60.

Badger Meter Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of BMI stock traded down $0.85 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $238.84. 159,086 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 215,134. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.83. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12-month low of $162.17 and a 12-month high of $256.08. The company's 50-day moving average price is $242.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $218.69.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.22. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 22.35% and a net margin of 15.74%. The firm had revenue of $222.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $220.39 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.99 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.96%.

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.