Donaldson Capital Management LLC Acquires 1,830 Shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Donaldson Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI - Free Report) by 12.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,359 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,830 shares during the quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC owned 0.06% of Badger Meter worth $3,112,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BMI. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Badger Meter by 162.5% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 147 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Badger Meter by 2,457.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 179 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Badger Meter during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Badger Meter by 261.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 597 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Argus set a $240.00 target price on shares of Badger Meter in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus lowered 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. Finally, Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Badger Meter in a report 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 given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $229.80.

Badger Meter Price Performance

Shares of BMI stock traded down $2.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $242.41. The company had a trading volume of 165,205 shares, compared to its average volume of 211,845. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $226.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $216.04. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 52-week low of $162.17 and a 52-week high of $256.08. The company has a market capitalization of $7.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.31, a P/E/G 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.22. Badger Meter had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.77%. The company had revenue of $222.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $220.39 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.99 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Badger Meter Announces Dividend

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

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.