Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Shares Purchased by Congress Asset Management Co.

Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 9.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 398,588 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after buying an additional 35,424 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. owned approximately 1.36% of Badger Meter worth $75,831,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter valued at $94,547,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in Badger Meter by 5,897.0% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 235,322 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $49,917,000 after acquiring an additional 231,398 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Badger Meter by 21,179.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167,040 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $31,779,000 after buying an additional 166,255 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 184.6% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 256,217 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $54,350,000 after purchasing an additional 166,191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Badger Meter during the 4th quarter worth approximately $20,586,000. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Badger Meter Trading Down 0.7%

Badger Meter stock traded down $1.75 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $246.42. 215,571 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 211,295. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.26, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.85. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $219.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $215.08. Badger Meter, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $162.17 and a fifty-two week high of $256.08.

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

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Badger Meter's payout ratio is currently 29.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on BMI shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $209.00 to $196.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $218.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. 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 research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Argus set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Badger Meter in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $229.80.

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.