Congress Asset Management Co. Has $75.83 Million Stock Holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Congress Asset Management Co. raised its stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 9.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing 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 quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. owned 1.36% of Badger Meter worth $75,831,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMI. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Badger Meter by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,841,879 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $814,939,000 after acquiring an additional 44,839 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 796,528 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $169,448,000 after purchasing an additional 17,873 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Badger Meter by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 500,946 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $106,261,000 after purchasing an additional 7,719 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Badger Meter during the fourth quarter worth $94,547,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 433,169 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $91,884,000 after buying an additional 17,060 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Badger Meter Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Badger Meter stock traded down $0.23 on Tuesday, reaching $247.60. 144,640 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 211,167. Badger Meter, Inc. has a one year low of $162.17 and a one year high of $256.08. The company has a 50-day moving average of $221.97 and a 200 day moving average of $215.49. The company has a market capitalization of $7.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.54, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.85.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $222.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 last year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on BMI. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $209.00 to $196.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Argus set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Thursday, April 24th. 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 research report on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price 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. Finally, Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $229.80.

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.