Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Shares Sold by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 6.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,248 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 2,846 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC owned approximately 0.14% of Badger Meter worth $8,038,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth $94,547,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 5,897.0% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 235,322 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $49,917,000 after purchasing an additional 231,398 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 21,179.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167,040 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $31,779,000 after purchasing an additional 166,255 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Badger Meter by 184.6% in the fourth 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. bought a new stake in Badger Meter in the fourth quarter worth $20,586,000. 89.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Badger Meter Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of BMI stock traded down $1.64 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $244.17. 236,009 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 215,371. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12-month low of $162.17 and a 12-month high of $256.08. The company's 50-day moving average price is $244.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $219.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.83.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $222.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $220.39 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.74% and a return on equity of 22.35%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BMI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $218.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. 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 note on Monday, April 21st. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Finally, Argus set a $240.00 price target on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Badger Meter has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $236.60.

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.