Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 45,650 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 1.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,796,229 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 45,650 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 12.89% of Badger Meter worth $722,233,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in Badger Meter by 22.7% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 2,731 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $519,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Badger Meter in the first quarter worth about $369,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Badger Meter by 11.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 878 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in Badger Meter in the first quarter worth about $65,448,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Badger Meter by 100.0% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $284.00 to $264.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $224.00 price objective on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $216.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Argus set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $238.40.

Badger Meter Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BMI traded down $4.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $186.83. 304,901 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 521,146. Badger Meter, Inc. has a twelve month low of $162.17 and a twelve month high of $256.08. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $222.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $216.88. The company has a market cap of $5.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.70, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.84.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.19 by ($0.02). Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The company had revenue of $238.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $235.38 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. Badger Meter's revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. This is a boost from Badger Meter's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Badger Meter's payout ratio is 29.63%.

Badger Meter Company 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.