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

Bridges Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 97.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,729 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,302 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Badger Meter were worth $2,041,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Interstate Bank grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. First Interstate Bank now owns 2,581 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $491,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Palisades Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 1.9% during the first quarter. Palisades Investment Partners LLC now owns 34,604 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $6,583,000 after purchasing an additional 653 shares during the period. Values First Advisors Inc. grew its position in Badger Meter by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 8,739 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,663,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Badger Meter in the 1st quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 154,974 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $29,484,000 after acquiring an additional 3,488 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Badger Meter Stock Up 0.8%

BMI stock opened at $239.78 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.83. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52-week low of $162.17 and a 52-week high of $256.08. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $242.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $218.41.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $222.21 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $220.39 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.74% and a return on equity of 22.35%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.

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