Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Sells 8,601 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lessened its holdings in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 9.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 83,370 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 8,601 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned 0.28% of Badger Meter worth $15,861,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Badger Meter by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,780 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $590,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Values First Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC increased its position in shares of Badger Meter by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 1,361 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Cim LLC grew its position in shares of Badger Meter by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Cim LLC now owns 9,747 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $2,068,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of Badger Meter by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,221 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Badger Meter Stock Performance

NYSE:BMI traded down $7.61 on Friday, hitting $181.15. 554,410 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 276,828. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 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 company's 50-day moving average price is $237.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $218.88.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by ($0.02). Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The firm had revenue of $238.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $235.38 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. The firm'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 year.

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.