Millennium Management LLC Has $2.04 Million Position in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Millennium Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 83.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,628 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 49,261 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC's holdings in Badger Meter were worth $2,042,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BMI. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 251,800 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $53,412,000 after acquiring an additional 10,008 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 32,827 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $6,964,000 after acquiring an additional 2,642 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 2,575 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $546,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Ethic Inc. lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 103.9% during the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 5,093 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,080,000 after buying an additional 2,595 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in Badger Meter by 54.5% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 82,636 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $17,529,000 after purchasing an additional 29,164 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on BMI. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Badger Meter from $218.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Badger Meter from $209.00 to $196.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Argus set a $240.00 target price on Badger Meter in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Raymond James initiated coverage on Badger Meter in a report on Tuesday. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Badger Meter from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note 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 data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $229.80.

Badger Meter Stock Down 0.4%

NYSE BMI traded down $0.88 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $248.18. The stock had a trading volume of 224,193 shares, compared to its average volume of 210,494. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $218.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $214.87. The company has a market cap of $7.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 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.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.22. Badger Meter had a return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 15.12%. The business had revenue of $222.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $220.39 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Badger Meter's payout ratio is currently 29.96%.

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.